Why Braves should give 12.71 ERA reliever another chance at MLB level in 2026

Why Braves should give 12.71 ERA reliever another chance at MLB level in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Atlanta Braves are sitting atop the NL East with a steady nine-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies and the rest of the division.

Things are going well for the Braves, especially now with the activation of Ha-Seong Kim from the injured list. But there's still plenty of room to get better.

Christopher Kline of Fansided.com called out one prospect the Braves should promote this season, but it wasn't one of the top names. Instead, it was a reliever who's already posted a 12.71 ERA in the Majors in Rolddy Munoz.

"Atlanta has a couple of elite high-level relievers in Raisel Iglesias and Robert Suarez, but Munoz could prove valuable depth down the stretch in a middle-innings role," Kline writes.

But why should the Braves give Munoz another chance at the MLB level after his previous stints resulted in a brutal 12.71 ERA? Well, Munoz has been elite this season in the minors and has upside worth taking a chance on.

Why Rolddy Munoz should be promoted despite 12.71 ERA

In Munoz's MLB career, across four games and 5.2 innings in total, he's allowed nine hits, two home runs, and a 12.71 ERA with eight strikeouts and six walks and a 2.65 WHIP.

Those are some truly terrible statistics, which include a 13.50 ERA in a two-inning outing this season. But, back in the minor leagues, he's been dominant.

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Across 12 games this season at Triple-A, Munoz has posted a 0.64 ERA with 16 strikeouts and a 1.00 WHIP in 14 innings pitched.

Munoz won't have to carry a heavy workload in the Majors, and if the success he's shown this year in the minors could translate even a little bit to the MLB level, he'd be a quality depth reliever.

In a year where the Braves look like legitimate World Series contenders, having someone with an elite two-pitch mix with a fastball and slider like Munoz would be nice to have.