Tim Hudson will be the only starting pitcher over 30 years old when the 2012 season begins. Youth will be served for the Braves in the starting rotation in 2012 and that is a good thing. Here is a look at the Braves’ starting rotation as of right now:

#1: Tim Hudson: 36-year old righty Tim Hudson is going to be the ace for the Braves once again in 2012. Hudson pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Braves last year and he was 16-10 with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He has now pitched in 195 games (194 starts) in his first 7 years with the Braves and he is 89-58 with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Hudson has now pitched in 378 games (377 starts) in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 181-97 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. I have no reasons to believe that Hudson won’t keep rolling in 2012.

#2: Jair Jurrjens: 26-year old righty Jair Jurrjens’ name came up a lot over the winter in trade rumors, but as of now, he will be the Braves’ #2 starter in 2012. Jurrjens pitched in 23 games (all starts) for the Braves last year and he was 13-6 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Jurrjens has now pitched in 108 games (all starts) in his first four years with the Braves and he is 47-32 with a 3.34 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Jurrjens has now pitched in 115 games (all starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 50-33 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The Braves hope that Jurrjens can stay healthy in 2012.

#3: Tommy Hanson: 26-year old righty Tommy Hanson pitched in 22 games (all starts) for the Braves last year and he was 11-7 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He has now pitched in 77 games (all starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 32-22 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. The Braves hope that Hanson can stay healthy in 2012 as he has a huge upside.

#4: Brandon Beachy: 25-year old righty Brandon Beachy will be #4 in line for the Braves in 2012. He pitched in 25 games (all starts) for the Braves in 2011 and he was 7-3 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Beachy has now pitched in 28 games (all starts) in his first two years with the Braves and he is 7-5 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Beachy has a huge upside, but like Jurrjens and Hanson, the Braves need him to stay healthy in 2012.

#5: Mike Minor: 24-year old lefty Mike Minor will have to beat out righties Randall Delgado and Julio Teheran if he wants to win the #5 job in the Braves’ starting rotation this spring. Minor pitched in 15 games (all starts) for the Braves last year and he was 5-3 with a 4.14 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. He has now pitched in 24 games (23 starts) in his first two years with the Braves and he is 8-5 with a 4.74 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. Minor has a huge upside but the Braves want to start seeing better results from him.

Randall Delgado: 21-year old righty Randall Delgado is one of the hot shot prospects who will compete for the #5 job in the Braves’ starting rotation this spring. Delgado pitched in 7 games (all starts) for the Braves in his first taste of the majors last year and he was 1-1 with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He also pitched in 25 games (all starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 7-7 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.

Julio Teheran: 21-year old righty Julio Teheran is another high end prospect for the Braves. He pitched in 5 games (3 starts) for the Braves last year in his first taste of the majors and he was 1-1 with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Teheran also pitched in 25 games (24 starts) last year in AAA-ball and he was 15-3 with a 2.55 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE STARTING ROTATION IN 2012: A