The Atlanta Braves Now Have a World Series Rotation

For years we’ve been waiting for the Atlanta Braves to assemble the frontline pitching they need to win a World Series, and now they have it.

Ever since the 2010 season when Tim Hudson finished fourth in the Cy Young vote, it seems like we’ve gone into every offseason wondering if the Atlanta Braves would acquire that front-line starter they’ve so desperately needed.

Well, they still haven’t done that, but they have developed two guys in Mike Soroka and Max Fried who I considered to be top of the rotation starters.

And now they’ve backed them up with a couple of veterans in Charlie Morton and Drew Smyly, as well as some even younger guys in Kyle Wright and Bryse Wilson.

The Braves also have some other young starters who could figure into the mix at some point this year, giving them a ton of depth in the rotation.

But now — assuming everyone stays healthy — the Braves have a starting nucleus that you can go into the postseason with and feel really good about your chances of winning.

We all knew going into the 2020 postseason that the depth of the rotation — especially with no days off — was going to hurt us.

Surprisingly, the starting pitching carried us through the first two rounds. And honestly, it was the offense that let us down in the last three games of the NLCS.

It still would have been nice to have a Charlie Morton (or a Cole Hamels … ugh) to pitch one of those games and save the overworked bullpen.

Now the Braves shouldn’t have to worry about that with the depth of talent they have in the starting rotation.

I’d put Soroka, Fried, and Morton up against any team’s ace and feel confident that we at least have a chance to win.

I don’t know if the Braves’ rotation will be a top five rotation in all of baseball in 2021 — they certainly could be — but the point is, you feel pretty good about your chances to win every night with the guys they’ll be putting on the mound.