Minor makes a MAJOR statement with solid outing

Fifteen months ago Mike Minor was pitching in the SEC, dominating for the Vanderbilt Commodores and on his way to becoming the seventh overall selection (Atlanta) in the Major League Baseball draft. Earlier this season, despite some struggles at the Class A and AA level, Minor was promoted to Class AAA-Gwinnett, where he dominated to the tune of a 4-1 record with 1.89 ERA. Minor, a lefthander, struck out 37 in 33.1 innings of work while allowing just 19 hits and 12 walks for a microscopic WHIP of 0.93.

Fastforward to last night where Minor made his Braves debut against the Houston Astros, and you’d see that he lived up to the team’s lofty expectations. Minor was sharp, considering the circumstances of starting his major league career on the road in a quirky ballpark. The young lefthander went six innings, allowing five hits, four runs (three earned) while walking one and striking out five. Minor faced 26 batters over his six innings of work, throwing 94 pitches, 64 for strikes.

The debut was actually one of the better debuts for young Braves phenoms over the last few seasons. Minor received a no-decision in the 10-4 loss as the Astros did their damage against the Braves bullpen. Minor’s four runs allowed would be considered a success in comparison to the debuts of Kris Medlen and Tommy Hanson. Medlen’s debut came May 21, 2009, at home against Colorado. The righty lasted just three complete innings, getting lifted in the fourth after throwing 80 pitches (43 strikes), allowing five earned runs on three hits while surrendering five walks, and only striking out two. Medlen even hit a batter before being lifted in that 9-0 loss to the Rockies. Hanson meanwhile made his debut a few weeks later on June, 7, 2009, and allowed seven runs (six earned), including three home runs over six innings. The Braves beat the Brewers that day, but Hanson did not factor into the decision, despite striking out five batters and throwing 91 pitches (61 strikes) to 26 batters.

Minor, who didn’t seem overwhelmed by the situation at all, figures to be in the Braves rotation for the rest of the season. The most telling sign of his comfort was his composing himself after a few bloop hits gave away a lead. Some young pitchers might have blown a gasket after errors and lucky hits went against them, but Minor possessed the attitude of a seven-year veteran by simply taking a deep breath before moving on. If Medlen can fully recover from the partially torn ulnar collateral ligament and be healthy for the start of the 2011 season, the Braves rotation should be quite a formidable one: Tim Hudson, Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, Medlen and Minor, with Derek Lowe somehow factoring in as well. With a solid debut Minor made a major statement that he should command a rotation spot coming out of 2011 spring training. The future is now for the Braves pitching staff.