House That Hank Built
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Atlanta Braves starting rotation finally taking shape

By Jake Mastroianni

ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 18: Mike Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves delivers in the first inning of an MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at SunTrust Park on April 18, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 18: Mike Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves delivers in the first inning of an MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at SunTrust Park on April 18, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 16: Max  Fried #54 of the Atlanta Braves delivers in the first inning of an MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at SunTrust Park on April 16, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. All players are wearing number 42 to honor Jackie Robinson. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 16: Max  Fried #54 of the Atlanta Braves delivers in the first inning of an MLB game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at SunTrust Park on April 16, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. All players are wearing number 42 to honor Jackie Robinson. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /

A firm five

It’s taken nearly 20 games, but I firmly believe we know who the five best pitchers are that belong in the starting rotation.

1. Mike Foltynewicz

2. Kevin Gausman

3. Julio Teheran

4. Max Fried

5. Mike Soroka

I honestly believe these are our five best starters, and I hope we get to see them form a rotation for a while here to get the Atlanta Braves into a groove.

Folty is expected to make one more rehab start over this weekend, and then he’ll likely take Touki’s place in the rotation later next week.

Some may think Touki deserves to stay in the rotation, but I like the idea of him going to the bullpen and making a spot start here-and-there.

Despite his struggles in Spring Training, Gausman has looked like he did at the end of 2018 for the Atlanta Braves. He’s a solid number three starter right now.

Teheran looks like a different pitcher this year. And had it not been for a disastrous inning at Coors Field where he gave up six runs, his numbers would look a lot better.

Fried absolutely deserves to be in the rotation, and in the end he might be the second best starter we have.

He’s now made 12 starts in the big leagues and has a 2.33 ERA in those starts with 55 strikeouts in 58 innings pitched and a WHIP of 1.26.

That’s not a small sample size. Fried is a really good starting pitcher.

The only concern with Fried is that he’s never thrown more than 118.2 innings in a season. If you include his Arizona Fall League innings in 2017 then he threw a total of 144.2 innings that year.

Still, I wouldn’t expect him to throw more than 175 innings this season.

We all know what Soroka is capable of and he showed that in his 2019 debut. As long as he’s healthy he’ll be in the starting rotation.

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