The Atlanta Braves have a stacked bullpen. Nick Anderson could make this one of the most deadly relief cores in the big leagues.

Nick Anderson was once considered at Josh Hader level. He was the most elite of relief pitchers not so long ago.

How Good Was Nick Anderson Before the Braves?

In February of 2020, I wrote an article titled Nick Anderson: The Next Superstar Reliever. In the article, I took a look at Anderson’s 2019 season and how it was comparable to the supposedly incomparable (at the time) Josh Hader. Here’s a snippet of some stats from that year.

• BB%: Hader (6.9%) / Anderson (6.1%)
• BB/9: Hader (2.4) / Anderson (2.5)
• K%: Hader (47.8%) / Anderson (41.7%)
• K/9: Hader (16.4) / Anderson (15.2)
• HR/9: Hader (1.8) / Anderson (1.1)
• xFIP: Hader (2.36) / Anderson (2.44)

Anderson only has 87.1 major-league innings under his belt, but man they are spectacular. He didn’t make his debut until 2019 with the Marlins. Anderson’s career numbers have him at a 2.89 ERA, an insane 14.1 Ks per nine, 0.96 WHIP, and 2.4 walks per nine.

Anderson suffered a back injury late in 2021 and then underwent elbow surgery in October of 2021 that put him on the shelf for all of 2022. It’s been a while since he’s pitched.

If today’s game against the Rays was any indication, then Braves’ fans should be very excited.

Anderson finished the game with one perfect inning and two strikeouts.