How Cole Hamels First Start Impacts the Atlanta Braves Rotation

Cole Hamels made his Atlanta Braves debut on Wednesday night. What does this mean for the Braves rotation going forward?

Cole Hamels made his long-awaited debut for the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, pitching 3.1 innings and throwing 52 pitches. This was what was expected from Hamels, as he’s expected to slowly ramp up over the next two weeks and hopefully be ready by the playoffs.

In those 3.1 innings, he allowed 3 earned runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, and struck out two. Not the prettiest stat line, but it was the first time Hamels had pitched in a major league game in nearly a full year.

There were some who viewed this as a negative, and if you only glance at the stat line, it is hard to argue.

However, there were some positives found in his first start. Fellow Tomahawk Take Contributor, Jake Mastroianni, went more in-depth on Hamels start in this article.

What we are looking at here is what Hamels return means for the Atlanta Braves going forward.

Pitching Depth

There is a lot riding on Hamels for the remainder of the season. Right now, Cole Hamels is expected to be the third pitcher for the Braves in the postseason.

Even though Kyle Wright looked good in his latest start, he has not done enough to inspire solidify himself like Max Fried and Ian Anderson. Wright still needs to put together a few more decent starts before he can truly solidify himself in the rotation.

Cole Hamels does not need to prove himself to solidify his spot in the rotation, he needs to justify it. He was paid $18M this off-season ($6.67M pro-rated due to shortened season), which would have been the most ever given to a Braves pitcher.

If Cole Hamels is healthy, he is going to be in the postseason rotation. This is why the Braves signed him.

The Braves also do not have any other options. Mike Soroka is out with injury, Josh Tomlin is better suited in the bullpen, Touki Toussaint, Bryse Wilson, Sean Newcomb, and Mike Foltynewicz have all struggled and are currently at the alternate site.

The only pitcher the Braves acquired at the deadline was Tommy Milone.  He’s now been placed on the IL.

Plus, the postseason schedule does not do the Braves any favors, as there won’t be any days off in the division series or championship series. This will make it harder to pitch guys on shorter rest.

This means the Braves need to establish a somewhat stable rotation for the postseason. Unless the Braves plan on pitching Max Fried every three days, they need Cole Hamels to figure it out and figure it out quickly.

Cole Hamels first start really says more about the lack of depth than Hamels. The Braves need to rely on a guy, who had not pitched in a major league game in nearly a year, getting ramped up in time for a postseason run.

Simply put, Hamels start impacts the Braves because it gives them some hope that they may potentially have three reliable starting pitchers in time for the postseason. Something most would not have thought possible a few weeks ago.