Luiz Gohara is not just getting called up Tuesday by the Braves, the left-handed prospect will start Tuesday night’s game against the Texas Rangers in his major league debut at SunTrust Park.
Talk about a rapid ascent: Gohara, who turned 21 in July, began the season pitching at high Single-A Florida. Now the hard-throwing Brazilian prospect will start against the power-laden Rangers lineup in his first day in the big leagues.
Julio Teheran, who had been the scheduled Tuesday starter, will instead start Wednesday’s series finale against the Rangers.
Gohara, who features a mid-90 mph fastball and outstanding slider, was 7-4 with a 2.62 ERA in 26 games (25 starts) across three minor league levels this season and had 147 strikeouts with 44 walks in 123 2/3 innings.
He came in at No. 76 in Baseball America’s updated Top 100 prospects list at midseason.
The Braves acquired Gohara from the Mariners along with lefty relief prospect Thomas Burrows in a January trade for outfielder Mallex Smith and reliever Shae Simmons. Gohara was rated the Mariners' No. 3 prospect after the 2016 season.
Burrows, a 22-year-old Alabama native, also had an impressive season, posting a 2.16 ERA in 38 appearances this season at Single-A Rome with 92 strikeouts and 25 walks in 66 2/3 innings. It was his first full professional season after being selected in the fourth round of the 2016 draft out of the University of Alabama.
Gohara went 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in seven starts at high-A Florida to begin his first year in the Braves organization. After a promotion to Double-A Mississippi, he was 2-1 with a 2.60 ERA in 12 games (11 starts), with 60 strikeouts and 18 walks in 52 innings.
That earned another bump to Triple-A Gwinnett, where he went 2-2 with a 3.31 ERA in seven starts and had 48 strikeouts with 16 walks in 35 1/3 innings.
There have been some questions about Gohara’s maturity and conditioning, but none whatsoever about his major talent and “live arm.”
Also Tuesday, the Braves reinstated infielder Johan Camargo and utility man Danny Santana from the disabled list, but later moved Santana to the 60-day DL after determining that a tweak to his previously injured quadriceps muscle wouldn't allow him to play again for at least a few weeks.
