Rookie reflects on quick trek to Atlanta

PHOENIX — Since he was drafted in June of 2017, Kyle Wright has harped on the privilege of joining the Braves, the franchise that helped him grow to love baseball.

Wright, 22, is through two outings in the majors after a mad dash up the minor league ranks. He pitched a pair of scoreless innings against Boston and after a clean seventh inning, got knocked around by the Diamondbacks in the eighth.

“It’s been cool. It’s been fun,” Wright said. “In my first outing I threw well. I attacked hitters and then (Friday) I thought I was very, very fortunate. I was behind a lot of guys. I gave free bases. Even in the first inning, ( Johan) Camargo saved me with a nice play and I was able to make a pitch. I just have to be better at attacking hitters.”

Wright emphasizes aggressiveness. He illustrated it facing his first major-league batter, Jackie Bradley Jr., when he struck him out on five pitches. He threw 31 pitches, 15 for strikes, without allowing a hit against the Red Sox.

Arizona was a different story. Wright led off with a seven-pitch walk to Paul Goldschmidt. He managed to pitch around that, but couldn’t the following inning.

Nick Ahmed singled off Wright. He walked the next two hitters, leaving with the bases loaded and none out. Luke Jackson held the damage to a run, but the Braves ultimately lost 5-3. There was a long break between innings, with the Braves offense dragging the eighth over a half hour, but neither Wright nor manager Brian Snitker felt that mattered.

It was a valuable learning experience for Wright, who admitted his aggressiveness wasn’t nearly the level of his first appearance.

“I thought my approach against the Red Sox was much better than it was (Fri- day against Arizona),” he said. “I saw free and easy, attacking the strike zone and I made pitches off that. Then (Friday) I was rushing a little bit, left my arm back and all over the place. Didn’t have great off-speed stuff either. But yeah, just have to not look too deep into who you’re facing. Just make pitches the best you can.”

How Wright navigates the major league learning curve will influence his standing next season. He could pitch himself into the 2019 rotation, but for now, he’ll focus on the day at hand.

“Every day I come to the clubhouse it’s living a dream,” he said.

CURTIS COMPTON / COMPTON@AJC.COM Pitcher Kyle Wright was drafted in June of 2017 and has already pitched for the Braves in two games this season, both in relief.