The Atlanta Braves need 36-year old righty starting pitcher Derek Lowe to finish this season strongly. He has pitched in 28 games (all starts) for the Braves this year and he is 8-12 with a 4.63 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Lowe is in the 3rd year of a 4 year, $60 million dollar deal for the Braves. He has pitched in 95 games (all starts) in his first three years for the Braves and he is 39-34 with a 4.42 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Lowe has been dependable in his first three years as he always takes the ball when it’s his turn to pitch. But, the Braves need him to start getting better results.

26-year old righty reliever Jesse Chavez might be running out of time in Atlanta based on his pitching so far this year. He has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the Braves this year and he is 0-1 with a 7.33 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has given up a stunning 5 homers in only 23 1/3 innings so far this season for the Braves. With Jair Jurrjens getting close to returning to the Braves Chavez needs to pick up the pace or he is going to be pitching in AAA soon.

Closer Bob Wickman and #4 starter Kyle Davies have both been awful so far this season. Wickman is 1-2 with 16 saves, a 4.80 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP so far this season. The Braves need Wickman to pitch better in the 2nd half of the season or they need to consider pulling him from the closers job and give it to Rafael Soriano. Kyle Davies has been pretty awful again this season. He is 4-7 with a 5.55 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP so far this season. The Braves would replace him if they had anyone that they thought could do a better job.

The Braves have placed Lance Cormier on the 15-day disabled list with a tired arm. I surprised it wasn’t whiplash with all of the homers he has allowed. In 2 starts this season, Cormier is 0-2 with a 15.26 ERA and a 2.74 WHIP! In 7.2 innings this season, Cormier has allowed 14 hits, 7 HOMERS, walked 7 batters and whiffed 4 batters. The Braves have recalled Buddy Carlyle from the minors to get his big chance. He will be the #5 starter on the Braves for as long as he can pitch well. In 3 games (2 starts), Carlyle is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Carlyle has thrown 12 innings and he has allowed 8 hits, walked 5 batters and whiffed 9.Â

The Braves were hoping that Chad Paronto would build upon the success he had last season, but so far this season he has been terrible. In 16 games this season, Paronto is 2-1 with 1 save, a 8.25 ERA and a 2.42 WHIP so far. In 12 innnings, he has allowed 19 hits and walked 10 batters! Paronto could find himself back in AAA ball unless he starts to pitch better soon.