Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Greg Maddux got all of the headlines of the great pitching staffs of the 1990’s for the Braves and deservedly so. But for a short time (from 1991-93), Avery was also one of the best pitchers on the Braves as he was a combined 47-25 those years. But, injuries got to Avery and his performance faded as the years went on. Avery pitched in 203 games (201 starts) in his seven years with the Braves and he was 72-62 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. It’s too bad that Avery couldn’t stay healthy as he was pretty darn good when he came up for the Braves.

70-year old Joe Torre had a pretty good career for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves. He played in 1,037 games in his 9 years with them as a player (1960-68) and he was 1,087 of 3,700 (.294 avg, .818 OPS) with 470 runs scored, 142 homers, 552 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Torre made 5 All-Star teams with the Braves and he also won 1 Gold Glove. Torre was one of the best hitting catchers of his time. Torre also managed the Braves for three years and they were 257-229 (52.9%) under his watch during the regular season but they were 0-3 in the playoffs. When Torre gets into Baseball’s Hall of Fame, he will be likely wearing a Yankees’ Cap, but he got his start as a player with the Braves.

24-year old righty rookie starting pitcher Brandon Beachy is off to a good start for the Braves so far this year. Beachy has started 5 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He only has given up 23 hits and walked 9 batters in 29 1/3 innings so far this year and he has 31 whiffs as he has been very good. Beachy came into this season as the Braves’ #8 prospect according to Baseball America and he’s showing why so far this year. He got his first taste of the majors last September when he started 3 games for the Braves and was 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Beachy has a bright future for the Braves as he has the stuff to be the #2 or #3 starter pretty soon.

The Atlanta Braves have only three position players hitting over .250 so far in 2011. 27-year old lefty swinging catcher Brian McCann is hitting well, as usual, for the Braves so far this year. He has played in 23 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 24 of 81 (.296 avg, .730 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers, 13 RBIs and 1 stolen base. There is no reason to think that McCann won’t keep rolling along this year for the Braves. 39-year old switch-hitting 3B Chipper Jones is also off to a great start for the Braves. He has played in 23 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 23 of 81 (.284 avg, .803 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers and 16 RBIs. Jones is showing amazing plate discipline so far this year as he has walked 10 times this year, while only whiffing 6 times. The Braves hope that Jones can stay healthy, because he has shown that he’s still a great player. 33-year old lefty swinging OF/1B Eric Hinske is off to a good start off the bench for the Braves in 2011. Hinske has played in 15 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 7 for 25 (.280 avg, .733 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 4 RBIs. Look for Hinske to start getting more P.T. soon if the Braves continue to slump as a team while he’s hitting well. The Braves are only hitting .226 (.659 OPS) as a team so far this year and that’s pretty pathetic.

22-year old righty reliever Craig Kimbrel won the closer’s job out of spring training and it looks like he wants to keep it for a while. Kimbrel has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Braves so far this year and he is 0-0 with 4 saves, a 0.00 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP. He has only given up 3 hits in his first six innings this season while whiffing 10 batters and walking only one. If his control stays good, he’s going to be one of the best closer’s in all of baseball because he’s almost unhittable. Kimbrel has now pitched in 27 games (0 starts) in parts of two years with the Braves and he is 0-0 with 5 saves, a 0.34 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He has whiffed a stunning 50 batters in his first 26 2/3 innings with the Braves while only allowing 12 hits as he has been downright amazing so far in his major league career.

The Braves have acquired 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Stefan Gartrell from the White Sox for cash considerations. Gartrell has played in 8 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 8 for 26 (.308 avg, .977 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. He has now played in 582 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 573 of 2,084 (.275 avg, .817 OPS) with 342 runs scored, 83 homers, 320 RBIs and 36 stolen bases. The Braves needed some depth in the outfield in AAA, so I like the pick-up of Gartrell who could help out the Braves at some point in 2011.

The Braves have placed righty reliever Peter Moylan on the 15-day disabled list due to a lower back strain. Moylan has pitched in 7 games (0 starts) for the Braves so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA and a 2.31 WHIP. The Braves will miss Moylan as he pitches pretty much every other day when he’s healthy. The Braves activated 25-year old righty starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens before the second game of the doubleheader with the Mets and he was the winning pitcher after working the first seven innings in which he shut out the Mets. He only gave up 2 hits and 1 walk while whiffing 4 batters as he looked really sharp.

UPDATE: (5/11/2011) - Peter Moylan will undergo back surgery next week to repair a herniated disc. His season is likely over.

All winter long it seemed as if the Braves were trying to deal veteran righty starter Derek Lowe. That being said, Lowe is off to a fast start despite not getting much help so far. He has started 3 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 1-2 with a 1.45 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He has only given up 15 hits while walking 5 batters in his first 18 2/3 innings for the Braves so far this year as he has been very aggressive in the strike zone. Lowe also has 15 strikeouts so far this year, so he has been on his game and the Braves hope that it continues for a while.

Starting 2B Dan Uggla is off to a slow start for the Braves. He has played in 12 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 7 for 46 (.152 avg, .492 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 2 homers and 2 RBIs. Uggla has been very impatient at the plate so far this year as he has only walked 2 times while whiffing 7 times. Uggla is a very streaky hitter and he’s got the most power of any Braves’ hitter, so they are going to be patient with him while waiting for him to get hot.

39-year old switch hitting 3B Chipper Jones is off to a hot start for the Braves. He has played in 6 games for the Braves so far this year and he is 8 for 24 (.333 avg, .818 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 3 RBIs. Jones hasn’t even whiffed this year as his stroke is looking as sweet as ever. The Braves need him to stay healthy this year as he had a rough year in 2010. He played in 95 games for the Braves last year and he was 84 of 317 (.265 avg, .807 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 10 homers, 46 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Braves don’t really have a backup plan at 3B, so they need Chipper to stay healthy and productive in 2011.