Braves' Player Recap: Paul Maholm

Today's Braves' recap will be on starting pitcher Paul Maholm.
Maholm originally made his major league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 2005. He spent seven years there until going to the Chicago Cubs before 2012. The Atlanta Braves were in need of starting pitching and acquired him and outfielder Reed Johnson on July 30th for some minor league players.
When Maholm came over to the Braves, he had just won his past five decisions and his record was 9-6 at the time. One thing he failed to do when he came to Atlanta was show consistency. He seemed to do good one start and then falter in his next start. One of his worst outings came on September 2nd against the Philadelphia Phillies, as he only pitched two innings and gave up seven runs on six hits.
When Maholm was on top of his game though, things went a lot different when he pitched. For example, in his second start with the Braves on August 10th, against the New York Mets, he pitched a complete game shutout, giving up only three hits. It was one of the best performances of the year by a Braves' pitcher. Overall with the Braves and Cubs, Maholm went 13-11 with a 3.67 ERA and 140 strikeouts.
The Braves exercised Maholm's contract yesterday, meaning he will be in Atlanta again in 2013. His option only costs the Braves $6.5 million, which isn't bad for a strong starting pitcher nowadays. Some reports said Maholm could still be traded, but if any pitcher leaves, it would most likely be Tommy Hanson. Maholm probably will be the fourth starter for Atlanta, and help give the Braves one of the best rotations in baseball.