There were so many pitchers in Braves spring camp that early on, manager Fredi Gonzalez had to explain how he was going to find work for all of them in exhibition games.
There were lots of split-squad games early, Gonzalez noted, providing plenty of innings of opportunity.
Also, Julio Teheran could throw a minor-league game if necessary because it’s not as if Teheran needed to show what he can do against big-league hitters.
“We don’t worry about Julio anymore,” Gonzalez said.
A couple of days later, Braves boss John Hart was being peppered with the kind of questions one expects for a baseball executive who drastically reshaped the roster of a club that is accustomed to winning.
None of the questions were about the team’s No. 1 starter.
“I feel very good about Julio Teheran,” Hart said.
A few days after that, Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman admitted he was shaken when the team spent much of the offseason trading away established big leaguers and getting mostly prospects in return.
Still, Freeman said he was optimistic about this season because the lineup is better balanced and the pitching staff, anchored by Teheran, is strong.
“Julio is going to be Julio,” Freeman said.
And so it went during Braves spring training: The big questions stayed in the forefront and Teheran faded into the background, an indisputable answer for a team that doesn’t have many.
Teheran is just 24 and has less than 70 major-league starts, but the Braves consider him a sure thing this season.
“You’ve seen him grow up,” Gonzalez said. “You’ve seen his work ethic and the type of character he is. You don’t worry about him.”
It’s remarkable that he has already come to this far, even if it shouldn’t be a shock after all the good things that were predicted.
Teheran was just 16 when he signed with the Braves out of Colombia. Three strong seasons in the minors made him one of the top-rated prospects in baseball by 2012.
But that was the year Teheran “kind of fell off the charts,” as Hart said. He suddenly couldn’t get batters out at Triple-A Gwinnett and a rough spot start for the Braves that June didn’t inspire confidence, either.
“It’s a credit to him he was able to get himself back,” Hart said. “Then he had a nice rookie year.”
The Braves gave Teheran a shot in 2013 because he had potential and they were willing to absorb some inconsistency along the way. Teheran made 30 starts with Atlanta that season and delivered with 14 victories and a 3.20 ERA in 185 innings. He finished fifth in rookie of the year voting.
Gonzalez remembers “something clicked” for Teheran during that 2013 season. The manager said he usually can tell at about the 30-start mark if a young pitcher has what it takes to be a quality big leaguer and it was at about that point he knew Teheran had it.
“We were able to give him the ball, give him the ball,” Gonzalez said. “Some days he couldn’t get out of the fourth. Some days you see him give up three runs in the first inning. He wouldn’t be able to manage the inning. And then there was a time he all of a sudden grew up. He gave up one, but he didn’t give up four. He was able to manage. That came with experience.”
Teheran said it came with a change in attitude. The expectations are enormous for a player who was tabbed to become a major leaguer while still a teenager — the best international pitching prospect — as the Braves said when they signed him.
As he climbed closer to the major leagues, Teheran said he felt the pressure but eventually learned how to focus on pitching.
“I think I figured it out,” Teheran said. “A big thing for me is I don’t put pressure on (myself) and just try to do what I can do and try to do my best every time I go out. Don’t put pressure on at all. That’s what I’ve been doing the last two years and that’s why I’m better.”
He came out of spring training last year as the No. 1 starter because of injuries to others and he went on to become an All-Star and the undisputed staff ace. But it’s not as if the Braves could count on that this time last year.
“You had no idea,” Gonzalez said. “But the year before, we gave him the opportunity. You can sit here and talk until you’re blue in the face but until you experience it … “
Teheran has completed a quick climb from prospect to big-league pitcher to All-Star. He said he saw the difference when he returned home to Colombia after last season and was received “like an idol,” adding that he is motivated by the responsibility to represent his country.
Teheran has a chance to achieve the stature of Edgar Renteria, the best Colombian in major league history. Teheran said he remembers first seeing Renteria when he was 6 years old. He first met Renteria after he signed with the Braves in 2006. Teheran said Renteria offers him advice each time they cross paths.
“Every time he says, ‘It’s not easy to be here in the big leagues and you’ve got to concentrate on your goals and where you want to be,’” Teheran said.
That’s where the ongoing conversation about Teheran shifts. He’s a good major-league pitcher, but just how good can he be?
Hart believes Teheran already is a “front-line major league starter” but can be better. Gonzalez hesitates to call Teheran an ace because he believes that’s a label reserved for the best pitchers in the majors, players such as Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Cliff Lee.
“They have done it a long time,” Gonzalez said. “But Julio is on that road, in my opinion.”
It’s that projection that prompted former Braves general manager Frank Wren to sign Teheran to a six-year, $32.4 million extension before last season. Teheran’s 2014 campaign is evidence it could end up being a bargain but it will take more than one good year to meet expectations.
Teheran said he expects more too. He said he’s been comfortable with his pitches for three years now and is at the point where he’s finished tinkering with them and is focused on being consistent and not making mistakes.
“I think it will be better this year,” Teheran said.
The Braves say they don’t worry about Teheran anymore and in a spring filled with questions, there’s not much reason to doubt them.
