Brandon Beachy - A 24 yr old undrafted free agent who was pitching out of the bullpen in Class-A Rome just two years ago, Brandon Beachy is now the Braves' 4th starter with Jair Jurrjens on the shelf. After the way he pitched yesterday against the Brewers, it looks like he may stick around for a while. Beachy allowed just four hits and a walk over six innings yesterday afternoon, holding the Brewers to just one run while striking out seven. He has pitched extremely well for the Braves since they started pushing him up the ladder....he's actually gotten better as he's moved through the system. Beachy is a classic scouts vs. stats sort of a player, as his stuff is only slightly above average but his performance has been terrific. One thing that many of the scouts seem to minimize in covering Beachy is that while his raw stuff isn't all that special, his ability to command it (and especially to keep the ball down in the strike zone) might be. I don't have many doubts about Beachy's ability to put up solid numbers this year....my concern is the level of competition that will soon exist for Atlanta's rotation. Assuming Derek Lowe will be gone before too long, that still leaves Hudson, Hanson, Jurrjens, Minor, Beachy, Teheran, Vizcaino, and Delgado by the end of 2013. A great problem to have from a team standpoint, but that doesn't leave much margin for error for a guy with a bit less stuff than most of the others. I like Beachy quite a bit as a mid-rotation guy this season, but with all of his bullpen experience coming through the system he may end up being the odd man out in a few seasons.
Joel Hanrahan - I'll add to the table-pounding on Hanrahan, who picked up his third save already last night against the Cards. It should also be noted that Hanrahan's career ERA is skewed by 11 starts he made with Washington back in 2007...that 6.00 ERA carries some weight. He's put up an FIP ERA under 3.00 for the past two years combined, he fanned 100 batters out of the pen last year in under 70 IP, and he's a closer. Put simply, he must be owned. I'd put him in the middle tier of closers right now, and judging from the velocity bump he's enjoyed thus far (97.4 mph avg FB this yr vs. 96.0 last yr) there's even some upside here somehow.
Randy Wells - Wells did what he does yesterday, somehow holding the D-Backs to one run without his best stuff (6 hits and 4 walks in 6 IP) to earn the win. Last year he was owned in just over 6% of ESPN leagues....this year it's just over 3%. I don't get it. The guy is durable (32 starts a year the past two years), has a solid K rate (6.67 per 9 last year), pitches in front of a decent offense (20 wins the past two years), and has posted FIP ERA's under 4.00 in both 2009 and 2010. He's no star, but you can't field all-star lineups generally. I like Wells and would be fine with him as a 4th or 5th starter in mixed leagues....a bit better than that in NL-only formats.
Jose Tabata - The 22 year old Tabata seems to be taking this leadoff thing to heart, as he has reached base at least twice in all four of the Pirates' games thus far. Four games is nothing, but he's swinging far less so far (35% vs. 49% last year), and has walked three times already. Tabata has 20-30 SB speed, and combined with some newfound patience would make him into a rosterworthy OF in all formats regardless of the power development, which is still likely a few years off anyway. I'm intrigued by his potential this year.
Chris Narveson - I remember having Narveson on my farm a full decade ago, so it boggles my mind every time I see that he's still just 29. With four of their top 7 bats hitting from the left side of the dish, the Braves might have some issues with portsiders all year long.....they certainly did with Narveson yesterday. The Brewer lefty held the Braves to just three singles and three walks over six innings, striking out five without allowing a run. Narveson's FIP ERA was only 4.22 last year, so I do have some hope that he'll be able to push his ERA down under 4.50 this season and be a serviceable back-end starter in deeper formats. His ceiling is limited due to his relatively poor control and pedestrian velocity, but his ability to miss bats despite average velocity has been well-documented and provides him with much more value than the average back-end starter.
