Often compared to the great Pedro Martinez, Julio Teheran will make his first career start against a hot Philadelphia Phillies team on Saturday night. Fresh off every Atlanta Braves Twitter account is the excitement to see the #5-ranked prospect in baseball and the #1-ranked Braves prospect.
How ready is he, you ask?
He just grabbed Pitcher-of-the-Week honors in triple-A and has a stunning 1.80 ERA in 30 innings that has led to a 3-0 record in five games. His 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings display his power potential, and he’s only 20-years old.
Yes, 20-years old.
The Braves are loaded with talent in the minor leagues. Bringing young faces Jason Heyward (21) and Freddie Freeman (21) up to the majors early has indicated a lack of talent in the majors or these guys are just too good. They make Craig Kimbrel (23) feel old.
A young team full of stars and Teheran is the star of the pitching corps. I’m sure others are speculating on whether or not he is auditioning for a position. With his stats, so far, and the spring he had, I highly doubt that. The Braves need to catch ground and they aren’t afraid to use their young guns.
How will he do on Saturday? For starters, he won’t have to face Cliff Lee, who was moved up to tonight’s game; he’ll face Kyle Kendrick instead.
