Life's just Beachy

[love_that_reefer]

Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com reports that the Braves are expected to name Brandon Beachy as their fifth starter.
The Braves haven't announced their final decision yet, but if Knobler is correct, Mike Minor will begin the season with Triple-A Gwinnett. It's a minor surprise, although both have pitched really well during spring training. Beachy has a 1.80 ERA and 10/3 K/BB ratio over 10 innings, not including three shutout innings in a "B" game last week. The 24-year-old right-hander impressed last season by posting a 1.73 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A and a 3.00 ERA and 15/3 K/BB ratio down the stretch.

Its official, Minor was optioned yesterday. I don't really know a lot about this kid so it should be interesting to watch him grow as a MLBer. Braves definitely have the pitching to stay close to the Phillies if not overtake them in the East.

[DravenX]

I haven't seen much of Beachy but I hope he does well. I hope the Braves over take the Phillies in 2011. I was at the 2nd to last playoff game the Braves played at the Ted last season and I was not happy. Would of been nice to give Cox a great little send off with a WS win.

[General]

I think the key to our pitching this year will be Lowe's continuing reliability and whether or not Jurrjens will have a bounceback year. Hopefully he does, as he's a good young pitcher (and he's on my fantasy squad).

[love_that_reefer]

Beachy threw 6 innings, gave up one ER and struck out seven in his '11 debut. Nicely done Braves have Beachy and Hanson for years to come.

[Dry1313]

Interesting fact about Beachy; he was born in Kokomo, Indiana.

"Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya
to the playoffs, the East Crown, in a Philly beat down."

[AxeGrappler]

Beachy pitched well today vs. the Giants 6IP 3H 2ER and 7 strikeouts, but unfortunately the bullpen could not preserve the win for him.

So far this year he is 1-1 in 5 starts with a 3.68 ERA, 31 strikeouts and only 9 walks in 29.1 Innings. I have been pretty impressed with his ability. He has given up 4 homeruns though, as his groundball rate could use some improvement. Seems that the Braves lack of offense so far this year has really robbed him of more wins.

[GiantsFanatic]

Lol he was autopicked in the later drafts of
my loaded fantasy team that it pitching heavy!!!!!!

[love_that_reefer]

Welcome to the site AxeGrappler! Hope to see more of your posts!

[AxeGrappler]

Thanks! I'm sure you will!

The Braves also have two more guys pitching at AAA Gwinnett who are arguably Major League ready. Lefty Mike Minor was thought by many to be the favorite for the #5 spot before losing out to Beachy. He has had success at the ML level, including a 12 strikeout performance against the Cubs last year. He has also had some struggles, most recently against the Brewers in a spot start this year in which he looked downright nervous.

Righty Julio Teheran is a flamethrower with good breaking stuff. He is working on perfecting a change, but has had issues "tipping" this pitch which he will have to iron out. With his HEAT he could realistically contribute out of the pen right now, but if he perfects the change he will be a legitimate ML starter.