Atlanta Braves: Best pitching seasons of the decade
As the current decade nears an end, we decided to look back at the best individual pitching seasons from this decade for the Atlanta Braves.
The Atlanta Braves decade was much like a roller coaster, as it went up for the first few years, only to take a sudden drop for a couple of years and now, it seems we are back on another up (let’s just hope the downhill is far away still, as it looks like it might be).
It does not take much of a genius to know that this current decade’s rotations were not lined up with multiple aces like the 1990s or early 2000s Atlanta Braves rotations were blessed with having, but that does not mean there were not great seasons by Braves pitchers over the last 10 years.
We are going to limit the list to the best 5, but I felt obliged to mention the following pitchers and the season in which they almost made the cut.
Julio Teheran in 2013.
Shelby Miller in 2015. If he would have just finished that no-hitter off in Miami, he would have probably made the cut.
Mike Foltynewicz 2018 season.
A couple of quick notes about the aforementioned players. This will not be the last time you see Julio Teheran’s name, and I also don’t know if many people remember how good Shelby Miller was in his short stint with the Braves.Obviously, he is mostly attached in Braves’ history because of the lopsided deal he was involved in with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
So with that being said, let’s dive into the list and get it started.
#5 Jair Jurrjens in 2011
Remember Jair Jurrjens? It’s OK if you don’t, but back in 2011, he was on top of his game.
The final record was 13-6, but it was the first few months of the year where he really took off. A sparkling 1.51 ERA was where he stood when the calendar flipped to June, and at that point, he very well may have been the leading CY Young award candidate.
Besides the numbers we have already mentioned, it may be just as impressive that he completed at least 5 innings of ball in every one of his starts that year, and he never threw less than 83 pitches in a game.
It did seem as if Jurrjens was worn out as the season was drawing to a close since his September was easily his worst month. The results in that month alone drove his ERA from 2.38 to 2.96, which was where it obviously finished.
That season was the lone All-Star berth for Jurrjens, and his career went downhill fast after that year. He spent the 2012 season in Atlanta before finishing up his career with short stops in both Baltimore and Colorado.
Maybe if injuries don’t get to him, who knows where he would have wound up, but no doubt he gave the Braves everything in 2011.
#4 Kris Medlen in 2013
No, this wasn’t the year that the Atlanta Braves won all of Kris Medlen’s starts, but he was every bit as productive in 2013 as well.
If you ever want proof that you can’t judge a pitcher based off his wins and losses, look no further than Medlen in 2013.
At one point he sat at 1-6 despite an ERA south of 3.50. He would get more lucky in the second half of the year though as his final record was a very respectable 15-12.
Unlike Jair Jurrjens, Medlen pitched his best work of the season down the stretch in September as the Braves were clinching a division title.
Over his last 6 starts, Medlen combined to only surrender 4 earned runs, and he did not allow a single home run in that stretch as well.
Not to throw cold water on this, but of course, in what some would call typical Braves fashion, Medlen was lit up by the Dodgers in the NLDS series.
However, we did not include postseason results in determining this list.
That season would also mark the end of Medlen and the Braves as a pairing. Luckily for him, he moved on to Kansas City and won a world series ring, before having a forgettable stretch with the Diamondbacks and calling it a career.
Much like Jurrjens, it would have been fun to see what could have been if not for the injuries.
#3 Mike Soroka in 2019.
Yes, the wonderful rookie from Canada made this list. Mike Soroka was amazing in 2019, but obviously that only registers more considering it was his rookie year as we all know.
Remember this, Soroka had thrown almost 60 innings of baseball this year and his ERA was barely above 1!
Also, the highest it was at any point this year was the 2.68 ERA he finished the season with.
His work was noticed by his peers as well as the fresh 21-year-old was rewarded with his obvious first All-Star selection. Hopefully, there will be many more in the years to come.
Let me also take this little time to remind you that he was not selected as the NL Rookie of the year, although to be fair, I do think the right person won the award.
And I know that I said postseason stats were not a factor in this, but its hard to forget just how dominant he was in the lone NLDS series game he appeared in.
So while the Atlanta Braves are perhaps searching for an “Ace” in this offseason, hopefully Mike Soroka continues his ways from 2019 and becomes one himself in the near future.
I expect in 10 years, we will see this name again in this type of article.
#2 Julio Teheran in 2014
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No doubt Julio Teheran was a polarizing player among Atlanta Braves fans, especially at the end of his tenure. However, let’s not forget how good he was just a few years ago.
Maybe it was that he was not the “ace” some had longed for around the Braves organization, maybe it was the fact that he did not record a ton of strikeouts so to speak, but Julio Teheran was pretty great in the 2014 season.
The biggest thing that might jump out of the screen at you by looking at his stats was the fact he registered 221 innings pitched in 2014.
And despite his home run problems in the later years, he only allowed 22 on the season then, which is a very passable number for today’s day and age.
Lastly, the other thing that he did well in 2014 was limiting the free pass. Despite pitching all of the innings he did, he only allowed 51 walks on the season.
Maybe if he would have kept that up, he would have had better feeling among Braves faithful.
Obviously as we all know, it seems as if the Braves and Teheran have moved on from each other. Again though, let’s try and remember how good he was when he was at his best.
#1 Tim Hudson in 2010
Tim Hudson was a fantastic pitcher for the Atlanta Braves throughout his run with them, but the 2010 version was undoubtedly the best.
He tossed just under 229 innings for a pitcher and had a sub 3 ERA. He would earn an All-Star berth that season (his only with the Braves) and he finished 4th in the Cy Young vote.
Hudson was supposed to be the guy the Braves relied upon after the Hall of Famer’s had left town. As we mentioned before, he was always very consistent during his Braves days.
Maybe the most marvelous statistic of all for Hudson in the 2010 season was the fact he made 34 starts and in only 2 of them did he not go at least go 5.2 Innings pitched. In today’s game, that is almost unheard of.
Luckily for the local product, Hudson was able to go out and get a ring with the Giants before coming back to Atlanta and being a part of the community once again.
It should come as no surprise that arguably the best pitcher the Braves had in this decade put up the best season of all the pitchers.
Next. What Hamels brings to Braves. dark
So that’s the list. Let us know in the comments below how you would have arranged them. Also, be on the lookout soon for our top hitters of the decade.