Braves' Player Recap: Mike Minor

Today's second Braves' recap will be over starting pitcher Mike Minor.
Minor was drafted by the Braves and drew comparisons to another great Braves left-handed pitcher, Tom Glavine. He made his major league debut in 2010. He showed signs of potential that year and in 2011 when he made a few starts.
In 2012 Minor started off strong, then struggled for a few months before ending the season on a good note. In his first fifteen starts of the year, Minor gave up four runs or more ten times. His worst start came on May 5th against the Colorado Rockies when he pitched five innings and gave up eight runs on ten hits. That was in the middle of a span of four starts when he gave up seven runs, eight runs, six runs and then six runs again.
He was in danger of losing his job before he turned things around and improved in the second half. Compared to his first fifteen starts his last fifteen were much better, as he gave up four runs or more only once. His best start came on July 28th against the Philadelphia Phillies as he pitched eight strong innings and gave up a run on four hits and struck out nine batters. Minor also won his last five decisions of the year to help him finish the season with an 11-10 record. He had an ERA of 4.12 and added 145 strikeouts.
Minor has almost identical stats at this point in his career as the legendary Glavine did at the same point in the beginning of his career. That should be some positive news for the Braves and their fans. He will be part of a young and exciting pitching staff next season that will include Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy along with veteran Tim Hudson. Minor's better years are ahead of him and he hopes to help the Braves return to the playoffs in 2013.