Given the egregious scourge of injuries the Atlanta Braves have faced within their pitching staff this season, any promising development is more than welcome. One such bit of positivity has been the performance of a re-acquired, under-the-radar hurler.
Joey Wentz's 2Ks in the 3rd. pic.twitter.com/6SvDPNrGkA
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 30, 2025
Joey Wentz Could Be Pitching Himself into 2026 Plans
Sometimes, bad situations lead to unforeseen benefits. Joey Wentz’s emergence is becoming one for the Braves, and an incredibly surprising one at that.
Desperate for pitching options who could, at least, eat up some innings, the Braves grabbed Wentz, formerly a prized prospect of the Atlanta organization, off waivers from Minnesota just over a month ago. He was immediately plugged into a long-relief role, turning in an impressive three-inning debut for the Braves just before the All-Star break.
Wentz entered the rotation to begin the second half. So far, he has refused to squander the opportunity.
Over five starts for the Braves, Wentz has posted a 3.16 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 20-9 K/BB ratio across 25.2 innings. He has limited the opposition to a .196 AVG while surrendering just one homer. Evidenced by a 44.3% groundball rate and 5.6 Barrel%, the 27-year-old lefty has been utilizing an effective pitch mix and locating well.
Wentz showed some moxie bouncing back from a recent tough matchup. Back on August 5 against the red-hot Brewers, he surrendered five earned runs over 5.1 frames. Wentz rebounded in his next outing, limiting the Marlins to only one run across the same number of innings. The ability to put poor starts in the rearview mirror is an important element for a pitcher's sustained success.
It still seems like quite a long shot that Wentz ends up at the back of the Braves’ Opening Day rotation next year. If he keeps this up and maintains it in the spring, it’s also not entirely out of the question.
A bullpen spot is more feasible, but even that’s a shock considering Wentz is pitching for his third different team this season and has been designated for assignment twice within the past calendar year.
It's a great story at the moment for a team that has not had too many this season. Wentz will look to stay in rhythm during this weekend’s series at Cleveland.