The Atlanta Braves’ approach at the Aug. 3 trade deadline received criticism after they failed to capitalize on their high prospect capital, the best in recent memory, to significantly upgrade the starting rotation. It turns out Tyler Mahle — the Braves’ lone addition at starting pitcher, who had a 5.13 ERA at the time — was showing signs of becoming a front-end starter leading up to his acquisition from the San Francisco Giants, and the Braves identified those traits.“I know on the surface you look at the ERA and say, ‘Well?’” Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said after acquiring Mahle. “Obviously, we’re trying to dig a little further into some of those things, and we think what he’s done of late, there’s still some room for improvement with some other tweaks.”Since the trade deadline, Mahle’s 1.48 ERA is the third-lowest mark in MLB, with 32 strikeouts to just five walks. The Braves have won three of five games in which Mahle has started. With a crucial stretch in the season highlighted by back-to-back weekend series against the Philadelphia Phillies, who sit four games behind the Braves in the National League East, Atlanta will lean into Mahle’s success, which has been fueled by limiting his pitch offerings.“He added some pitches in San Francisco, which I don’t think is a bad plan, but it didn’t work for him,” Braves pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said. “Once he came back from the hamstring injury, he went back to who he is: four-seam cutter and splitter.”