Atlanta Braves

Prior to blowing out his elbow in 2010, Kris Medlen was 5-0 as a starter. Since his return to the starting rotation this year, Medlen is 6-0 in seven starts. An 11-0 record over the last two seasons as a starter is pretty impressive. But, just how impressive is Kris Medlen?

Tim Hudson received a cortisone shot on Friday after experiencing discomfort caused by bone spurs in his left ankle during a bullpen session earlier in the day.

Julio Teheran will get the spot start in his place on Sunday in the series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays, as reported by David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

With the 2012 MLB draft fast approaching, now is a good time to take a look at some of the talented prospects available this year. While the draft may not be as strong as the 2011 draft, there is certainly talent to be had with the 21st pick. 

This article previews four players that may be around when it is time for the Atlanta Braves to make their pick. These players may or may not be selected by the front office, but they are guys that I feel would be a good fit for the organization.

Mark Bowman of MLB.com has confirmed what the Atlanta Braves faithful have been hoping for recently when he reported Kris Medlen has been optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to prepare for starting duties.

He will likely need two or three starts in order to get stretched out for the rotation.

Jair Jurrjens isn’t getting any better. Since suffering a knee injury in the second half of the 2011 season, Jurrjens has looked uncomfortable on the mound has has vastly underperformed for an Atlanta Braves team that needed him to be one of the consistent starters in their rotation.

The Atlanta Braves won a close game in Arizona on Saturday, beating the Diamondbacks 3-2 to hand the D-backs their fifth straight loss. Tommy Hanson, the ace of the Braves staff, pitched seven strong innings and allowed just one run en route to picking up his second win of the season.

The Atlanta Braves are one of the hottest teams in baseball right now, having won nine of their last 10 games.

And, they've done it with a combination of pitching and hitting.

With their recent success, and the early-season questions of needing to acquire another outfielder to take the place of Martin Prado, I'm wondering if it's best for the Braves to stand pat with their lineup.

In the end, the Atlanta Braves just plain ran out of gas in 2011. Their collapse wasn't quite as bad as that of the Boston Red Sox, but it was just as disappointing.

The Braves didn't use their collapse as an excuse to go out and completely revamp their team over the offseason. On the contrary, they stayed eerily quiet, making very few moves and generating very few headlines. The Braves laid low.

Nate McLouth's frustrating tenure with the Atlanta Braves may finally be over.

On the disabled list since July 29, McLouth underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia he had been playing through for most of the season. 

For the first half of the season, the Atlanta Braves struggled mightily to produce offense, and were carried by their amazing pitching.

In this half of the season, so far, their pitching has been declining, and their offense has been surging.

This is not necessarily a negative thing; however, it seems it is now the Braves' pitching that needs assistance.