atlanta — Julio Teheran's home splits since SunTrust Park opened 14 months ago have been shaky, and that's putting it kindly.
Counting Sunday's erratic outing of six earned runs and seven hits allowed over just five innings (versus the Marlins), Teheran's seasonal ERA at home jumped from 4.29 to 5.53 in one afternoon.
His home WHIP ballooned from 1.38 to 1.55, as well.
Now, couple those numbers with Teheran's 2017 splits at home (3-10, 5.86 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) and his cumulative numbers covering both seasons ... and we're talking about 4-11, 5.81 ERA and a painfully constant 1.50 WHIP.
Interpreting the above tallies with questions:
**Should the Braves fully abandon the notion of starting Teheran at SunTrust Park?
**Should they be worried that Teheran's market value—either for Major League Baseball's July 31 trade deadline or next offseason—will be tarnished by the woeful production at home?
The answers are no ... and no.
Let's address the second question first:
On the road this year, Teheran boasts rock-solid numbers of a 3-1 record, 2.89 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 23/11 K-BB rate; and last season, he commendably sported an 8-3 record, 3.14 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 78/32 K-BB rate away from SunTrust Park.
In other words, unless the Braves ship Teheran to a National League East club in the coming months (highly doubtful), then Teheran's future employer would maybe max out with one SunTrust Park start per season.
Most likely zero, though.
The funny thing about that: Opposing clubs will almost certainly use Teheran's porous home numbers against him in trade talks, as if they're doing Atlanta a favor by taking the pitcher's exorbitant contract off the books.
In reality, though, Teheran signed a team-friendly extension in 2014 ($32.4 million from 2014-19, with a $12 million team option for 2020), essentially buying out the arbitration years and two potential free-agent campaigns.
PHOTOS | Braves Opening Day 2018
Back then, the veteran-laden Braves were in win-now mode at the major-league level, trumpeting a young core of Freddie Freeman, Evan Gattis, Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Melvin Upton, Andrelton Simmons, Alex Wood and Mike Minor that would seemingly compete for multiple pennants over a five-year span.
That strategy, however, changed drastically after the club imploded midway through the 2014 season and ended up with a disappointing 79-83 mark—or 17 fewer wins than the previous year.
A few months later, new team president John Hart replaced general manager Frank Wren; and within a few weeks, Hart began to deconstruct the franchise's talent pool from the top down, trading the likes of Kimbrel, Heyward, Gattis, Simmons, Wood and Justin Upton for a slew of top prospects.
Amid all this roster chaos, Teheran also earned a battlefield promotion in the rotation, ascending from no-pressure youngster to the recognized ace of the Atlanta staff. That's quite a cross to bear.
It's all ancient history, though. Last year, the Braves underwent a massive change at the top (Alex Anthopoulos supplanting Hart and former GM John Coppolella); and thanks to a slew of savvy drafting and shrewd trades, Atlanta's top five prospects are all starting pitchers—Kyle Wright, Luiz Gohara, Ian Anderson, Kolby Allard, Max Fried and Mike Soroka, who has already been carving up MLB hitters, when healthy.
Heading into the 2018 campaign, Wright (No. 28 overall), Soroka (#29), Gohara (#47), Anderson (#49), Allard (#56) and Fried (#84) all cracked the MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects listing; and they'll likely be fixtures at SunTrust Park sooner than later.
Back to the present, and Teheran's situation:
If the Braves publicly declared that Teheran would no longer start home games, this pronouncement would surely crush any impending trade value. Plus, it would likely be a confidence killer with the Colombian hurler, who's still only 27 years old.
But when thinking creatively ... Atlanta manager Brian Snitker could attempt the following plan, guaranteeing Teheran a maximum of 12 innings at Sun Trust Park before July 29—or two days before the MLB trade deadline
Also, keep in mind, the home outings against the Orioles and Padres involve offenses which rank 23rd and 28th in batting average, respectively:
THE TEHERAN ROAD-MAXIMIZATION PLAN
May 26 @ Boston
May 30 vs. Washington (maximum 3-4 innings ... treating it like his 'throw' day)
June 4 @ San Diego
June 10 @ L.A. Dodgers
June 14 vs. San Diego (maximum 3-4 innings ... treating it like a 'throw' day)
June 19 @ Toronto
June 23 vs. Baltimore (maximum 3-4 innings ... treating it like a 'throw' day)
June 29 @ St. Louis
July 4 @ N.Y. Yankees
July 8 @ Milwaukee (5 innings max)
July 20 @ Washington (first game after the All-Star Break)
July 24 @ Miami (maximum 3-4 innings ... treating it like a 'throw' day)
