Braves Starting Rotation Looking Very Unfamiliar
The Atlanta Braves are starting to look like a brand new squad on the mound. With the defection of John Smoltz to Boston, Mike Hampton to Houston, and both Tom Glavine and Tim Hudson seriously uncertain. The new rotation was bolstered with some good news this week as the Braves have reportedly come to terms with free agent gem Derek Lowe. The addition of Japanese All star pitcher Kenshin Kawakami has also bolstered hopes as the Japanese pitcher is said to be quite a talent.
Still, the Braves are concerned. The team is uncertain whether to resign Glavine as he is trying to determine if offseason surgery to repair a torn tendon in his elbow will be a problem. The prognosis on this injury is not very good given Glavine’s age, though others have came back from it. Hudson, one the other hand is due back around the start of the second half of the season. That leaves a chasm to try to fill for the Brave’s starting rotation.
As it stands right now, the Braves would have Derek Lowe, Kenshin Kawakami, Javier Vazquez, and young Jair Jurrjens penciled into the starting lineup. Jorge Campillo is likely to man the final starting spot until Hudson gets back. Jair Jurrjens was the leading pitcher for Atlanta last season, and looks to be vastly improved in 2009. That gives the Braves a strong potential top three along with Kawakami and Lowe. Vazquez has a ton of talent and can be dominant at times, but needs to work on being steady every single time out. He has those blow up games from time to time.
When Hudson returns, and everyone else holds to expectations, the Braves will be fairly strong in their starting pitching. The question of being great, however, is largely dependant on the development of the youngsters, and the adjustments of Kawakami. The Japanese signing is one of the biggest question marks of the 2009 season for the Atlanta Braves. If Kawakami can be even half as good as he is advertised to be, the Braves should be able to weather the storm until staff ace Hudson gets back in the lineup.
Whether Hudson will come back at full effectiveness only underscores the need to develope those young arms like Jurrjens and Campillo. They will need all the help they can get come playoff time, assuming that they can position themselves in the running.COPYRIGHT © 2008 – 2009 All Sports PRO. All rights reserved.