10. 2016 Atlanta Braves All-Stars: Julio Teheran
Julio Teheran will always be one of my favorite Braves. He came in with a great amount of hype and he lived up to it for years. It always felt like he was overachieving.
In 2016, his average fastball was usually riding around 88-91 MPH (which used to be average). As his fastball continued to slow, he continued to make changes and keep hitters off balance.
Teheran surpassed the great Greg Maddux in 2019 with his sixth straight Opening Day start, tying him with Warren Spahn.
2016 was his second and last (as of now) All-Star selection. Julio also made the squad in 2014 as a 23-year-old.
In 2016 Teheran led a rebuilding Braves team into the All-Star break with a 2.96 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 118.2 innings pitched.
Like Shelby Miller on the last page, Teheran’s performance was not picked up by the Braves bats as he entered the break with a 3-8 record.
Manager Brian Snitker (who replaced Fredi Gonzalez in the first half of 2016) had this to say about Teheran’s second All-Star nod (via MLB.com).
“The record’s not how this guy — this guy’s been awesome. Very effective. He’s kept us in every game — just been nails. He’s been really good, very deserving of this honor. I’m happy for him. Like I said, it’s well deserved. You look at his numbers other than his record, he’s as good as anybody in the league.”
Teheran finished the 2016 season with a 3.21 ERA in 188.0 innings pitched. His 7-10 record was reflective of a poor offense as the Braves continued their rebuild. However, we knew that once every five days we were going to be treated to a gutsy, gritty performance by our lone All-Star of 2016.
All-Star Credentials: 18 GS, 3-7 (W-L), 2.96 ERA, .206 BAA, 25 BB, 107 SO, 0.969WHIP
All-Star Game Stat Line: 1.0 IP, 12 P, 9S, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO