Note: This article is the back cover story for this week's Score Atlanta. Check it out this Wednesday on one of 1300 outlets in the greater Atlanta area...
Twelve different pitchers started a game for the Atlanta Braves last year. The team entered the 2008 season with a starting rotation of John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, Mike Hampton, Tom Glavine and Jair Jurrjens and all spent time on the disabled list with Glavine, Hudson and Smoltz having their seasons end early due to injury. Chuck James, Jo-Jo Reyes and Charlie Morton experienced growing pains and Jeff Bennett and Buddy Carlyle moved from starters to relievers and back so often they needed passports. Braves GM Frank Wren knew that the rotation needed an overhaul and the winter before the 2009 season saw him take a jackhammer to the overall staff.
Wren’s first move was to acquire Javier Vazquez and the durable righty has shown his potential on the Puerto Rico World Baseball Classic squad, recording a win with 4.1 innings of shutout ball. The Braves brass is hoping that Vazquez lives up to his track record of 200+ innings and 200+ strikeouts every season. Thus far in WBC play, Vazquez has three strikeouts and that was on a pitch count.
Wren next inked Kenshin Kawakami from the Japanese major leagues and Kawakami has appeared in three innings over two games, allowing just one hit while striking out three. The Japanese import got roughed up in an intrasquad game but luckily he won’t have to face Jason Heyward when the regular season starts.
Derek Lowe was brought in by Frank Wren to be the team’s ace until Tim Hudson returns from Tommy John surgery in late August. Lowe’s arrival may prove to be quite serendipitous as he was signed only after the team failed to acquire San Diego’s Jake Peavy and free agent AJ Burnett. Just last week Lowe pitched four scoreless innings, allowing zero hits while striking out six Astros. In just six innings this spring, Lowe has nine strikeouts. He is another pitcher capable of going 200+ innings with 200+ strikeouts.
Those three will join returning starters Tom Glavine and Jair Jurrjens. The former will likely start out the season in the No.5 spot while Jurrjens, despite leading the team in wins last season should begin the year in the No.3 spot. Jurrjens won 13 games in 2008 in 188 innings pitched and he has shown he has the stuff to be a potential No.2. Thus far this spring Jurrjens has two starts and has given up eight hits in 5.2IP.
Several starters from last season may begin the year in the bullpen or in Gwinnett, but it won’t be for lack of effort this spring. Jo-Jo Reyes has been a pleasant surprise so far with a 2-0 record. Against Philadelphia, the lefthander went four innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out four. Some pundits thought that Reyes may have been passed by other pitchers in the system after Reyes went 0-7 over his final 13 starts with a 7.81 ERA. Jorge Campillo was in some danger of suffering from Jorge Sosa syndrome (coming out of nowhere to record a winning record, only to fade the next season) after a rough first spring training appearance, but Campillo has come on for Team Mexico in the WBC. The righty has a 1-0 record with a 1.93 ERA while striking out two in 4+ innings.
The major storyline though with this pitching staff has been the phenom Tommy Hanson. The youngster has eleven strikeouts over 10.1 innings and was blowing smoke in his debut. Hanson has shown he can blow it by hitters (99 mph against Carlos Lee); he can drop the huge curve (Lee again); he can uncork a nasty slider (Ryan Howard was fooled by one of Hanson’s offerings); and Hanson can even dominate when he doesn’t have his best stuff (4.2 IP, 5 hits, 1ER, 2K 2BB, 1HBP v Florida Friday). In any other season Hanson might be getting a long look for the No.5 spot in the rotation, but with Wren’s off-season upgrading spree, Hanson will likely start the 2009 season in AAA-Gwinnett. The legend will only grow with every dominating start against overmatched minor leaguers.
Entering the season Wren called his bullpen one of the team’s strengths. Rafael Soriano has looked good in several of his appearances and Mike Gonzalez appears to have picked up where he left off last season, which was Lead Conductor at the Domination Station. If Campillo and Reyes head to the bullpen, the staff will have something that it lacked last season: depth. So far Atlanta’s pitching performance has made Wren’s decisions look very smart. If the Braves are to have a chance at the postseason, this success must continue when the games count.
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