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Atlanta Braves veteran pitcher Charlie Morton is struggling to find himself this season. The crafty righty has started 14 games this season, putting together a 4-4 record with a 4.20 ERA.
Morton is struggling to identify the type of pitcher he is. He has lost the velocity on his fastball, which has made him rely more heavily on his secondary pitches than in recent years. While he still has great secondary pitches, they are less effective when hitters are sitting on something slow.
He has not looked like himself, which has been a cause for concern from Atlanta fans. The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal recently went on Foul Territory TV to discuss the veteran's future.
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"I sensed in this conversation that I had with him on Friday, more that [it] is coming to the end than in the past," - said Rosenthal.
Rosenthal believes Morton's career is coming down to the wire. He has lost much of what made him a two-time All-Star and is starting to question his abilities more and more.
"Yes, I do believe he is getting close to the end now. He misses his kids. He's got four kids, he wants to see them grow up" - said Rosenthal.
There is nothing worse than questioning your abilities as a professional athlete. Once that starts to happen, they start to crumble, and that is hard to return from.
Charlie Morton's latest struggles will not help him mentally as the Braves try to keep it together
Charlie Morton's latest start against the New York Yankees is nothing to write home about. He went 5.2 innings, giving up five runs on five hits while walking five batters. The Braves would end up losing to the Yanks 8-3.
You will not get far in this league giving up five walks a start, especially to a team as good as the Yanks. His high walk rate this season has certainly played into his struggles this season.
Morton struggling this season was the last thing the front office wanted to see. They needed the starting rotation to step up, with news of Spencer Strider being shut down for the year to address a UCL issue.
Watch for this team to be aggressive in their pursuit of pitchers over the next few weeks. They cannot confidently go into the rest of the season with the arms they have now.
