A lot has been made about the need for the Atlanta Braves to improve the pitching staff this offseason, but this is already a really good rotation.
After watching the pitching staffs of the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals dominate the 2019 postseason it’s no wonder why many Atlanta Braves fans are hoping for upgrades in the starting rotation this offseason.
But the rest of the league realizes just how important having those big horses in your rotation is as well, and as a result we’ve seen huge money given to the top four free agent pitchers already this offseason.
Joel Sherman recently wrote an article for the New York Post ranking his Top 10 pitching staffs in Major League Baseball after all the recent moves.
Atlanta did not manage to make Sherman’s list, which I think is a mistake.
The first seven are pretty obvious and you won’t get much of an argument from me on those teams.
With what Cincinnati has done with their rotation they certainly belong in that seventh spot.
But the last three teams rounding out his top 10 could easily be dropped for the Braves staff.
The Indians have already traded away Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer. And then there is the unfortunate case of Carlos Carrasco. They’re also talking about possibly moving Mike Clevinger.
Sherman has the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers at 9 and 10.
I really view the Cardinals and Braves as the same with a young ace at the top and a couple of arms with upside behind them. But I’ll take our veteran in Cole Hamels over Adam Wainwright finding lightning in a bottle again.
And while I certainly like what the Ranges have done this offseason, taking on Kluber was a huge risk and the rest of their rotation is a bunch of number three starters.