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The Atlanta Braves have a great deal of confidence in their rotation. The team believes they have the starting pitching necessary to make a deep postseason run this year. And while Atlanta views its starters as the key to playoff success, Braves manager Brian Snitker knows the team has something truly special in closer Raisel Iglesias.
“He’s been about as good as I’ve been around, in my tenure here as a third-base coach (and) managing. We’ve had some Hall-of-Fame quality closers here, and he’s right there with all those guys, what he’s doing right now,” Snitker said of Iglesias per The Athletic’s David O’Brien on X.
That’s certainly high praise as Snitker has been with the team on and off since 1985. In his time with the organization, the Braves skipper has seen a host of ninth inning studs. Snitker first joined the Braves in 1985 and was just one season removed from legendary Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter’s epic 1984 campaign when he saved an MLB-high 45 games with a 1.54 ERA and an ERA+ of 227.
Years later, as the Braves’ third base coach, Snitker watched Billy Wagner lock down 37 games with a 1.43 ERA, 13.5 K/9 and an ERA+ of 275 in 2010, which would be his last season in the majors. Wagner gave way to the rise of Craig Kimbrel, who won Rookie of the Year in 2011 and lead the league in saves for four straight years. In 2012 Kimbrel won the Rolaids Relief Man Award, recording 42 saves with a 1.01 ERA, 0.654 WHIP, 16.7 K/9 and a mind-boggling ERA+ of 399 in 63 appearances.
Braves manager Brian Snitker views Raisel Iglesias as an all-time great
More recently, Will Smith saved 37 games and posted 11.5 K/9 with a 127 ERA+ in 2021, when the Braves would go on to win the World Series. And Kenley Jansen had a National League-best 41 saves with 12 K/9 and a 122 ERA+ in 2022.
That season the Braves landed Iglesias from the Los Angeles Angels in a deal at the trade deadline. The following year, in 2023, Iglesias would take over closer duties for the team and he hasn’t looked back.
The 34-year-old righty has been exceptional this season. He’s 4-1 with a 1.22 ERA, 0.627 WHIP, 9.3 K/9 and an astounding ERA+ of 343. Iglesias is up to 3.1 bWAR in 56 appearances for the Braves.
The 10-year veteran has been especially dominant over the second half of the season. Iglesias hasn’t given up an earned run since June 16. In his last 32.1 innings over 28 appearances he’s allowed just eight hits with no earned runs and 41 strikeouts.
The Braves are eight games behind the first-place Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East entering play on Saturday. Atlanta is currently tied with the New York Mets for the final NL Wild Card berth. The team is up to number 10 in the most recent MLB Power Rankings and they’ve gone 24-22 since returning from the All-Star break.
