Washington Nationals: How Does Starting Pitching Rank In The NL East?
By Ron Juckett
3) ATLANTA BRAVES
A new era in Atlanta Braves baseball starts this year as the team moves into brand new SunTrust Park in suburban Cobb County.
Behind new manager Brian Snitker, the Braves came close to playing .500 ball the last three quarts of 2016 and hope to do the same again in their new digs.
They feature new grizzled veteran talent in Bartolo Colon, Jaime Garcia and R.A. Dickey to go with their ace Julio Teheran. In Teheran they have a stopper who can slam a losing streak down every fifth day. Do not let his 7-10 record last year fool you. He posted an ERA of 3.21 in 188 innings along with a WHIP of 1.053.
Anyplace else and he is a 15-18-game winner.
Atlanta returns touted prospect Mike Foltynewicz to the rotation. His control rivals Teheran. Given a full chance to see what he can do behind the veteran three, he could throw 150-170 innings of effective baseball.
At 44, Colon is still effective. Best known for his rotund look, “Big Sexy” won 15 for the Mets last year while hurling 191.2 innings. Better yet, his ERA topped out at an outstanding 3.43. He throws strikes, rarely walking hitters. The last two years, he led the league in walks-per-nine.
Garcia arrives in Atlanta via a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals. Needing a change of scenery after an off year, he brings another arm capable of throwing around 180 innings and a healthy strikeout rate. Where he gets into trouble is with the long ball, allowing 26 last year. Hard to say what happens in the new yard.
Dickey and his aging knuckler round out the rotation while there is a gaggle of prospects who have the pressure of last year taken off. As with the Phillies, the Braves are in transition. But, they have a better bridge to get there.