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Why the Cole Hamels injury could be a blessing for the Atlanta Braves.

By James Kunkle

PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 14: Cole Hamels #35 of the Chicago Cubs looks on from the dugout prior to the game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on August 14, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Cubs 11-1. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 14: Cole Hamels #35 of the Chicago Cubs looks on from the dugout prior to the game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on August 14, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Cubs 11-1. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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It seems obvious that the Atlanta Braves will be without Cole Hamels for a while to start the 2020 season.

Is that a good thing? Certainly not. Could it turn out to be a blessing for the Atlanta Braves? Absolutely.

It was only a year ago when the Atlanta Braves started the season out with an abundance of injury issues in the starting rotation and had to pitch two rookies in the first series of the year.

Sure, the Atlanta Braves took some bumps and bruises early on, but come September, everything was mostly fixed and the Braves were obviously division champs once again.

So while the Cole Hamels injury is not ideal, Atlanta is much more suited to begin the season this year with better results largely due in part to the emergence of Mike Soroka and Max Fried.

Kyle Wright, Sean Newcomb, and possibly Felix Hernandez will be counted on as well and all have thrown the ball exceptionally well this spring.

One stroke of bad luck is the early schedule, though. The Atlanta Braves are not as fortunate as usual as they do not have a lot of off-days early in the season like most teams are accustomed to having.

The Braves will have to have five starting pitchers right out of the gate, and can not “hide” a fifth starter for a couple of weeks as some teams can.

However, the bottom line is, Cole Hamels was signed to a large one year deal with September and October in mind. Nothing has changed on that front either.

I would much rather have a healthy Cole Hamels come playoff time than I would for an early April series against the Miami Marlins for instance.

Hopefully, at this point, Hamels can take his time and come back healthy in mid-May or somewhere in that time range, and pitch lights out down the stretch and be fully healthy for playoff baseball.

If he turns in some great starts in big series at the end of the year, no one will remember this setback and he will have earned every penny of that large 1-year contract.

Next. 2017 Top Prospects: Where are They Now. dark

Let us know in the comments below what your view of Cole Hamels is and your expectations for him in the upcoming 2020 season.

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