Braves' Player Recap: Craig Kimbrel

Today's second Braves' recap will be over reliever Craig Kimbrel.
Kimbrel was originally drafted by the Braves and made his major league debut in 2010. That was a good year for him to come up and learn from one of the best closers in baseball, Billy Wagner. Kimbrel apparently learned a lot, as he has led the National League in saves the past two seasons and won the Rookie of the Year award in 2011, he had 46 saves that year.
Kimbrel was again dominant in 2012. He didn't have anything negative about his year. Here are a few of the things he did during the season that were great. In 2011 he had eight blown saves, but this year he only blew three saves, he was much more reliable. His ERA was down over a run. Just about every statistic of his improved from 2011 to 2012.
His best stretch of games took place from September 5th to September 30th. He appeared in thirteen games over that stretch and recorded ten saves and three wins. He also had 25 strikeouts in those thirteen games, including a game where he struck out four men in one inning. He finished the year with fantastic numbers, going 3-1 with a 1.01 ERA, 116 strikeouts and 42 saves. One amazing stat so far in Kimbrel's career, he has appeared in 163 major league games and has struck out 283 batters. That is 120 more strikeouts than games he has appeared in, a mind-blowing stat.
Kimbrel will once again be the Braves' closer next season. Fans at Turner Field love to hear "Welcome to the Jungle" play as they know Kimbrel will come running out onto the field. He has been one of the best closers in baseball the past two years, if not the best. When he enters the game, the opposing team knows that the game is basically over. Hopefully Atlanta will keep him around for a very, very long time.