Panic started to spread around Braves country early in spring when the Atlanta Braves lost both Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy to season ending injuries on back to back starts in spring training. In a matter of hours, a rotation that was filled with pitching became very thin. Atlanta’s projected rotation to start the season was Kris Medlen, Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, Brandon Beachy, and Alex Wood. That changed dramatically. Minor was also out, injured after a urinary tract procedure, so the Braves knew they weren’t going to have their one, two, and four pitcher in the rotation for the beginning of the season.
Then, the Braves shocked plenty after they released veteran Freddy Garcia, who pitched decent in spring and with all the injuries appeared as a lock for the rotation. In what was called a “panic move”, the Braves signed Ervin Santana, then late in March went on to sign Aaron Harang after he was released by the Cleveland Indians. Even with those signings, the Braves opening rotation was composed of Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, Aaron Harang, and David Hale, not very impressive right? WRONG!
In what has been an amazing display of starting pitching, the Atlanta Braves currently lead the MLB in ERA with 1.47! Yes, you read that right. 1.47! What’s even more impressive is the gap between the Braves league leading ERA and the second team in the league in ERA the Oakland Athletics with a 2.48 ERA. Pretty nice gap if you ask me.
So what has gone right for the Braves starting pitchers? Why are they achieving at something that was supposed to be their biggest weakness? Well as for now it appears that every pitcher in the Braves rotation wants to have a career year. Julio Teheran continues to improve after his first full season last year and is quickly becoming the ace of the staff. Alex Wood’s unique delivery and great pitch location has him pitching better than his impressive starts last season. Although most of these pitchers have been surprises this year, there is no bigger surprise than how the rest of the rotation has pitched with Aaron Harang, David Hale, and Ervin Santana.
What has happened to Harang?! This is not the Harang we saw with the Dodgers or the Mets or even the Reds. This might be the best we’ve seen Harang pitch ever. Harang now owns a 3-1 record with a minuscule 0.70 ERA. He has also now carried two games into at least the 6th inning without giving up a hit.
Same thing that applies to Harang can probably apply to Ervin Santana. In only two starts, he’s mad he has a 1-0 record with a 0.64 ERA and 17 strikeouts. We all know that when Santana is good, he’s really good, but when he’s bad, he’s really bad. Giving up home runs is part of his game, but as of right now he hasn’t shown any signs demonstrating his bad side.
And as for David Hale, he has yet to have a decision, but he has been as good as a fifth starter of a rotation will be. He has shown that he can pitch at the big league level and should only get better with time as this has been a pattern with the Braves pitchers.
Now that we are three weeks into the season, the Braves are getting healthier and some decisions will have to be made with the upcoming returns of Mike Minor and Gavin Floyd. It never hurts to have too much pitching, but who can/will the Braves remove from the rotation to bring in Minor and Floyd? The Braves starting pitching is a reality and this situation shows why. What appeared would be something that would haunt the Braves all season long, now has them having a very good in-house competition with the starting pitchers. It will be interesting to see what moves the coaches make to have their best rotation, but as of now I wouldn’t expect or mind any of the current starters being removed. Hale appears to be the weakest link, but not because of how he has pitched, but because of his inexperience. Anyways, nobody really saw this coming from the Braves starters. A team that has always been pitching rich is at it again.