After yet a dominant start yesterday against the Detroit Tigers the Atlanta Braves have named Julio Teheran their 2014 Opening Day starter. Last season Teheran solidified himself as one of the best young starters (only 23 years old) in all of baseball by going 14-8 from the bump with a 3.20 ERA in 185.2 innings pitched. Fredi Gonzalez and the organization will look for even greater things out of the hard-throwing Colombian who was hitting mid 90's with his fastball consistently through spring training. Here's the news that David O'Brien broke this morning from Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
#Braves Fredi G will announce rotation later today, Teheran as OD starter as expected. Wood, Garcia and Hale fill it out till Santana joins
— David O'Brien (@ajcbraves) March 22, 2014
#Braves will have an Opening Day starter (Teheran) who has 34 career starts in majors. Not something you see too often.
— David O'Brien (@ajcbraves) March 22, 2014
In five Grapefruit League starts Teheran has been quite impressive in only allowing three earned runs in 19 innings (1.42 ERA), posted a 0.84 WHIP (13 hits allowed, 3 BB's) and holding opposing hitters to a .194 batting average. If he continues to pitch with such command he could not only give the organization the go-to ace they need, but also become one of the top pitchers in the National League.
Fredi Gonzalez has made it official to all media outlets now that the Braves prized hurler is their No. 1 going into the season.
#Braves made it official: Teheran to start Opening Day
— David O'Brien (@ajcbraves) March 22, 2014