Hardcore Atlanta Braves fans may remember left-handed reliever Danny Young from his brief but impressive stint with the club in 2023. In just eight appearances that season, Young turned heads by posting a 1.08 ERA and an excellent 2.42 FIP over 8.1 innings, looking like a potential breakout bullpen option before moving on the following year.
His time with Atlanta was brief—just eight appearances during the 2023 season—but it was memorable. In those innings, Young delivered a sparkling 1.08 ERA and posted an impressive 2.42 FIP across 8.1 frames, giving the Braves a glimpse of a left-hander who looked poised to carve out a bigger role. His ability to miss bats, limit damage, and work efficiently made him a quietly valuable figure during a stretch in which Atlanta cycled through several bullpen options.
But baseball’s constant roster churn often disrupts even the most promising stories. Young moved on, landing with the New York Mets, where he spent the last two seasons trying to establish himself at the major league level. His raw results in New York—52 total appearances with a 4.50 ERA—might suggest a middling reliever who never quite took the next step.
Yet anyone willing to look deeper into the advanced metrics sees a far different picture, one that could ultimately make Young one of the most interesting under-the-radar candidates to reemerge in a major role with Atlanta.
The most telling statistic from Young’s time with the Mets is his 3.25 FIP, a number that signals he pitched significantly better than his ERA indicates. ERA can often be influenced by elements outside a pitcher’s control, such as defensive positioning, fielding miscues, or inherited runners scoring after a reliever exits. FIP, on the other hand, isolates the pitcher’s true performance—strikeouts, walks, hit batters, and home runs allowed. Young’s strong FIP over two seasons suggests the underlying skills are absolutely there.
Those skills become even more apparent when examining his strikeout numbers. Young’s 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings over his Mets tenure represent elite swing-and-miss production, especially for a left-handed reliever who is not typically viewed as a high-octane arm. This level of strikeout ability is often a key indicator of bullpen arms who can break out or sustain long-term success, as it reveals a pitcher capable of controlling innings rather than relying on batted-ball luck. Pure stuff plays—and Young has shown that his does.
Now entering 2025, the Braves’ bullpen landscape is dramatically different from what it was two years ago. For the first time in several seasons, Atlanta’s relief corps is not the well-established machine fans have grown accustomed to. Instead, it is wide open—arguably more open than at any point under the current front office. Longtime pillars are gone, a handful of roles remain unclaimed, and even top projected bullpen spots could be reshuffled depending on performance in spring training.
That reality creates opportunity, and few pitchers stand to benefit more from that opening than Danny Young.
Atlanta has long valued versatility, left-handed depth, and pitchers with underlying metrics pointing to potential breakout seasons. Young checks all three boxes. He already demonstrated success in a Braves uniform back in 2023, and he has improved certain elements of his game since then. His stint in New York helped refine his pitch mix and sequencing, and his ability to strike out hitters from both sides of the plate gives him a competitive edge compared to typical left-on-left specialists.
Young could factor into several possible roles for Atlanta. At minimum, he offers competition for one of the final bullpen spots, something the Braves desperately need. They’ve cycled through several lefties in recent years—some successful, some not—and Young’s blend of command and deception makes him a compelling candidate. If he performs well in spring training, he could take on a middle-innings role or even pitch in more leveraged spots depending on how the bullpen shakes out.
There is also the realistic possibility that Young becomes one of those quintessential “Braves bullpen finds”—a pitcher with strong underlying numbers who finally clicks with Atlanta’s pitching development system. The Braves have built a reputation for turning overlooked relievers into legitimate contributors, and Young’s strikeout profile fits the mold of pitchers the organization has maximized in the past.
Of course, nothing is guaranteed. Bullpen competition is fierce, and the margin between making the roster and starting the year in Triple-A is razor-thin. But if Atlanta is looking for a dark horse—someone who could quietly transform into an important late-spring storyline—Young may be one of the best bets in camp.
For Braves fans who remember his brief but electric 2023 cameo, the idea of Young returning and earning a meaningful opportunity is an appealing one. And given the state of the bullpen, the timing couldn’t be more perfect. If the underlying numbers continue to point in the right direction, Danny Young could become one of the most unexpected but impactful pieces of Atlanta’s 2025 pitching staff.
