It's as if Craig Kimbrel can't get enough attention these days, and his rookie year hasn't even started. Here's a recap of the most recent articles featuring the Braves fireballer.
↵Jeff Sullivan at the SB Nation MLB site has some quick stats that say a lot about Kimbrel. His 40 strikeouts in 2010 is the highest strikeout rate in MLB history over a minimum of 20 innings, sitting at 17.4 K/9. No. 2 is Carlos Marmol at 16 K/9 in 2010, which is funny because many consider Marmol to be Kimbrel's comp. Will he be able to continue this over a full season? Maybe not right away, but I wouldn't be surprised. He's that good.
↵Rob Neyer at SB Nation's MLB site also has a brief note about Kimbrel and Jonny Venters sharing closing duties for the Braves.
↵Albert Lyu of FanGraphs writes a good article on Kimbrel and Venters sharing closing duties. You can't help but agree with the concept because it's a step toward utilitizing your best relievers in the highest leverage spots. There is no way of knowing if Fredi Gonzalez intends to do this full time, or if it even lasts half a season, but it's at least good to know he understands. I'll get into this soon on the Spring Training stream.
↵John Sickels of Minor League Ball has another prospect smackdown post up, and I must say I love reading these. This one features Kimbrel and Brewers reliever Jeremy Jeffress. Sickels is spot on across the board.