A finishing blow

John Smoltz, Craig Kimbrel, Kenley Jansen, Mark Wohlers, John Rocker, Billy Wagner... Will Smith: all have been great relievers who have made history during their respective careers with the Atlanta Braves. But there is someone we could also include among those big names, and it is the Cuban Raisel Iglesias.

There are many reasons for Iglesias to be part of the conversation. Following the departure of Kenley Jansen following the disappointing 2022 postseason, Iglesias has done a great job as the Braves' closer. He has 58 saves in 104 games relieved over the past two seasons.

When Craig Kimbrel began closing games for the Braves in July 2010, he ended up saving 51 games in his first 104 relief appearances. The other closer who came closest to Kimbrel and Iglesias was Gene Garber, who saved 44 games in the same span during the 1978 and 1979 seasons.

So Iglesias' work has been on par with the great relievers who have pitched for the Atlanta Braves in different eras. But his story of improvement does not end there. Iglesias started in Atlanta's bullpen during the 2022 season, when he regularly pitched in the eighth inning. That year he posted a 0.34 ERA in 26 ⅓ innings, posting the best ERA of any reliever with at least 100 batters faced in a season with the Atlanta Braves. He allowed only two runs (one earned), struck out 30 opponents and walked only five.

In a bullpen that has suffered losses, injuries and declines in performance by several pitchers, Raisel Iglesias has emerged as the closer the organization expected. One of the big keys to Iglesias' success has been his aggressive approach, constantly attacking hitters with pitches in the strike zone. The slider remains his main weapon, although his opponents have posted just .224 slugging against his changeup and a .125 batting average against his fastball this year.