Kris Medlen was doing a great job of keeping the Braves in games and putting up impressive pitching performances before he hurt his throwing elbow and had to undergo Tommy John surgery. Here are some interesting stats for you to think about:
Medlen pitched in 17 games as a reliever this season. The Braves were 7-10 when he pitched as a reliever. He had a 3.04 ERA as a reliever.
He made 14 starts this season, in place of Kenshin Kawakami. When he started a game, the Braves were 13-1. He had a 3.86 ERA as a starter. He didn’t get all of those wins, obviously. But, he gave the team the opportunity to win and they excelled when he was on the rubber. His ERA is higher as a starter, but that is to be expected because he is facing hitters two, three or even four times as he goes through the lineup.
Mike Minor has made three starts since Medlen went down with his injury. The Braves are 2-1 in his starts. The one loss came because of defensive and a bullpen meltdown. He is 2-0 with a 4.00 ERA and 22 Ks to 4 BB.
Medlen and Minor are filling the 5th spot in the Atlanta rotation. That is solid production out of the 5th spot.
For comparison’s sake, here is Kawakami’s 2010 numbers:
15 games started; 1-9 record with a 4.75 ERA. The Braves were 5-10 when he started a game.
To be fair, he did not get a lot of run support. However, he gave up almost a full run more than Medlen and Minor have. More times than not, he was not allowing his team a chance to win.
Original Story:
http://www.tomahawktalk.com/2010/08/m...
