8 trade targets from the Atlanta Braves for the Colorado Rockies

Atlanta Braves reliever Luke Jackson could also provide some bullpen help for the Colorado Rockies

Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Luke Jackson could also provide the Colorado Rockies bullpen with some much-needed help.

Jackson, 30, has had a spotty career overall but in 2019 and 2021, he had good years for the Braves.

In 2021, Jackson appeared in 71 regular season games and he had a coruscating ERA of 1.98. He had a FIP of 3.66, a WHIP of 1.162, and he walked 4.1 and struck out 9.9 batters per nine innings. In the postseason, he appeared in 11 games and had a 5.19 ERA but he had a 4.32 FIP. Four of the five runs he allowed in the postseason, though, were in one game (Game 3 of the NLCS).

In 2019, Jackson had an ERA of 3.84 (120 ERA+) in 70 appearances. He had a FIP of 3.24, a WHIP of 1.404, and 3.2 walks and 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings. He also had 18 saves

Also, among relievers with at least 100 innings pitched since 2019, Jackson’s groundball rate of 57.9 percent is 10th-highest. That would make him the highest groundball pitcher in the Rockies bullpen.

As Rockies fans well know by now, groundball percentage is the way that pitchers tend to pitch well at altitude. The Rockies starting pitching staff has thrived on this model in recent years, whereas the Rockies bullpen has struggled in recent years at Coors Field with a low groundball percentage (and a high flyball percentage).

He is entering the final year of arbitration before he is to hit free agency and he is slated to earn around $3.8 million in it.