While the annual RSM Braves prospects rankings will be up next month, it is intriguing to see the future starting rotation possibilities that the organization has. The guy that has been throwing the best lately has been 2009 1st round pick Mike Minor. Minor is 1-3 with a 3.43 ERA through 8 starts this year. However, his last 2 starts (1-0), he has gone 14 innings, allowed 0 runs with 19 K’s. He is likely moving up to AAA by mid-summer and could see some innings out of the Braves bullpen in September. Don’t rule out Minor being in the starting rotation next season.
However, don’t pencil Minor in as the Braves #3 or #4 guy behind Hanson and Jurrjens for the next few years yet. The most exciting starting pitching prospect the Braves have is Julio Teheran. Julio projects as a future ace of the staff, maybe even ahead of Hanson. In Rome this season, he has made 7 starts with his mid-90’s fastball:
39 IP – 5 ER – 1.14 ERA with 45 K’s to only 10 walks
Teheran is joined in the Rome staff by Arodys Vizcaino, the prospect acquired in the Vazquez trade in December. Vizcaino has 5 wins in his 8 starts with a 3.71 ERA.
Randall Delgado appears even closer to the major leagues than either Vizcaino or Teheran and could be in the rotation by 2012. Delgado currently has a 2.98 ERA through 8 starts in Myrtle Beach and has struck out 51 in 45 innings.
Now, we just need to find some bats to put in the lineup around Heyward and another run of division titles could be in the near future...
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