This 2019 All Star Should Garner Interest at The Trade Deadline
- Aaron Gandia
- Jun 23
- 2 min read
In 2019, Braves starter Michael Soroka established himself as one of the best young pitchers in baseball at the time. In his first full season in the MLB, Soroka posted a 2.68 ERA in 174.2 innings, which led to him being the runner-up in the National League Rookie of the Year honors to Pete Alonso. His strong rookie season helped the Braves win the division for the second straight year. He set a Braves franchise record in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Cardinals after retiring 17 straight batters en route to a 7-inning one-run outing. Despite his performance, the Braves failed to win the series but it showed Soroka was primed to be one of the best pitchers in the league for years to come.
However, his 2020 season ended after three starts due to a torn Achilles. After attempting to return from the injury in 2021, he re-tore the same Achilles tendon, preventing him from pitching in 2021 and 2022 altogether. He eventually returned in 2023 and pitched in seven games with poor results, posting a 6.40 ERA. This led to the Braves trading him to the Chicago White Sox in the offseason, where he posted a 4.74 ERA and a 0-10 record in 25 games for arguably the worst team in MLB history. Despite how ugly his numbers looked, 14 of his appearances came out of the bullpen, where he posted a 2.75 ERA compared to a 6.39 ERA in the rotation. His strong performance at the end of the season encouraged the Washington Nationals to sign him to a 1-year, $9 million contract to be a starter.
So far this season, Soroka has pitched to a 5.06 ERA, which is among the worst in the league. Despite his poor surface numbers, he has an xERA of 3.19 along with a 3.72 xFIP. His strikeout and walk rates have been exceptional, as his K/9 (strikeouts per 9) sits at 9.96, and he has a BB/9 (walks per 9) of 2.36. His underlying success can be attributed to replacing his slider with a slurve that he's thrown 37% of the time, which hitters are only hitting .123 against.
The Washington Nationals have gone 32-46 this season and are headed to the trade deadline as sellers. Michael Soroka should be one of their most valuable trade assets, as his underlying numbers show he has yet to hit his potential this season. Any team that acquires Soroka would be getting a steal, considering the high prices that teams are going to have to pay for starting pitchers at the deadline.
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