They’ve all gotten stints in Atlanta this year, but the first member of the Braves “holy trinity” of young pitchers has earned a spot on the roster, more than likely for the long run. Highly touted Arodys Vizcaino was called up from AAA Gwinnett yesterday, and veteran Scott Proctor was released. Vizcaino’s first appearance in the majors got off to a rocky start, as he hit a batter and walked two while getting two outs in the ninth inning for the Braves. He’ll continue to work in relief for the team and be a nice right-handed bullpen arm for a team who’s righty arms in the pen fall off a cliff once you get past closer Craig Kimbrel.
Vizcaino was acquired by the Braves after the 2009 season from the Yankees in the Javier Vazquez deal. Vizcaino was far and away the best player in the deal, after the struggles of big names Vazquez and Melky Cabrera with their new teams, and the overall boring quality of relievers Mike Dunn and Boone Logan. Atlanta is Vizcaino’s FOURTH level of the season, previously pitching in A+ Lynchburg, AA Mississippi, and AAA Gwinnett. Combined in those three stops, he struck out 100 in 97 innings while walking 28 and allowing just seven homers. He’s still only 20 years old, and his fastball that can touch the upper 90s makes him an ideal member of Atlanta’s bullpen.
The other two members of Atlanta’s pitching trio were a little more highly touted than Vizcaino coming into the year, and both struggled in spot starts in the majors. 20 year old Julio Teheran has spent the entire season at Gwinnett, minus a pair of starts for Atlanta where he struggled. Both the fans of conventional stats and sabermetric stats love him. Teheran has a 12-2 record and a 2.16 ERA, while striking out 104, walking 36, and allowing just four home runs in 116 2/3 innings. He’s a definite contender for the Braves rotation next season, assuming the team deals away some of their veteran arms (like Jair Jurrjens or Derek Lowe) to make room for him on the staff.
Randall Delgado has spent most of the season at Mississippi, but recently earned a call-up to Gwinnett. He also had one start in the majors this year. Delgado has been a little less impressive than Vizcaino and Teheran, but is still a great prospect. In 123 1/3 innings this season, he has struck out 119, walked 49 and allowed 11 homers. Just by looking at the raw numbers, you can tell that he’s a step down from the other two players. He’s also a little older than each of them, at 21 years old. But that’s not to say that Delgado isn’t an excellent prospect in his own regard. He’s just not nearly as good as the other two that the Braves possess.
There’s also Mike Minor, who has been pulled up and down from Gwinnett to the majors at least three times this season. Minor has worked more than all three of the other pitchers, combining to throw 139 2/3 innings in Gwinnett and the majors. His results have been mixed. At Gwinnett, he has 99 strikeouts, 27 walks, and 12 homers allowed in 100 2/3 innings. Things are a little different in the majors, as his strikeouts have fallen and his walks have risen: 31 strikeouts and 17 walks in 39 innings isn’t a huge recipe for success, but the zero home runs allowed is definitely a positive. Minor is a guy who is major league ready at this point in time, and has nothing to prove at AAA. The Braves should look to make a deal in the offseason to either find Minor a new organization, or to make a spot in the rotation for him.
Atlanta has a situation right now that could almost be considered bad: they have too much pitching. Minor and Teheran both should be in the major league rotation next season, but the team already has five established starters. Either the Braves will let them rot in AAA again, or make a trade to make room in the majors for both of their young pitchers. With Vizcaino seemingly entrenched in the bullpen, the future is looking very good for the Braves pitching staff.
