After a blow-up on June 5 in Atlanta, the Braves significantly reorganized their bullpen. The Braves DFA’d Scott Blewett — and then traded him to the Orioles — and recalled two pitchers: Dylan Dodd & Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel is back with the Braves and, more importantly, in the Majors for the first time since September 2024.

Kimbrel signed with the Braves back in March on a Minor League deal and performed well statistically, as you’ll see later on. However, one of the obvious takeaways from Kimbrel’s time in Triple-A is that this isn’t the Kimbrel of old.

Craig Kimbrel’s velocity has declined over the years. Last season, his average four-seamer fastball sat at 93.9 MPH, easily the lowest of his career. Mind you, his average was 96.5 MPH four years ago, and it was an offering that can easily overwhelm hitters when commanded well.

With Gwinnett (AAA), his velocity was down even further. He averaged 93.1 MPH with the Stripers.

However, he was willing to move off the primary two-pitch combo used for much of his career. From his MLB debut all the way through the 2025 season, Kimbrel was a pure fastball/curveball pitcher with an occasional third pitch mixed in there. Sometimes, it was a slider. Other times, it was a changeup.

Kimbrel experimented with a sweeper over the last two seasons and dialed in on that pitch with Gwinnett. He used it 14.9% of the time, far higher than the roughly 5% it was used in Baltimore.

He allowed one hit off it off 11 total swings.

But as Kimbrel has throughout his career, he was able to get swings and misses. Kimbrel posted a 29% Whiff% in Triple-A, and he struck out 23 over 18 innings. Most of those whiffs, by the way, came upstairs via that four-seamer.

Look, this is a very different Kimbrel compared to the one Braves fans saw a decade ago. I think the vast majority of fans know that. However, this isn’t to state obvious facts but offer a word of caution: keep expectations tempered.

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