The Daily Chop: Previewing Soroka, Fried, and Anderson for 2021

Braves News

What do the Braves need from Ian Anderson in 2021?

Ian Anderson broke out in a big way for the Braves in 2020 where his star shone particularly bright in the playoffs for Atlanta. With the Braves’ reworked rotation, the question now is how good does Ian have to be for the Braves to compete with the other elite teams in the National League?

What does Max Fried have in store for 2021?

You know that I am a sucker for statistical deep dives by Ivan and this is another great one. Ivan went through Fried’s career and looked at the data trends regarding his performance as well as pitch usage to see if that gives us any indication as to how 2021 is going to go. Just read this and you will be smarter.

What can the Braves realistically expect from Mike Soroka in 2021?

There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Mike Soroka in 2021. When will he return? What will he look like when he does return? How will the Braves manage his usage/innings as the season progresses? This article looks at some potential outcomes here thanks to some existing projections and a bit of common sense.

MLB News

Giants, Yamaguchi agree to deal

It was a largely quiet Saturday on the transactions front with the notable exception of the Giants signing Shun Yamaguchi to a contract. The righty pseudo-reliever struggled a bunch in Toronto (well, Buffalo I guess technically), but his versatility as a starter or reliever has value and the Giants may simply want to take a closer look at him in spring.