Atlanta Braves: Will Felix Hernandez reclaim his throne

The Atlanta Braves may have caught lightning in a bottle with the resurgence of Felix Hernandez. Can he translate his spring success into the regular season?

Felix Hernandez was considered one of those pitchers yanked off the scrap heap when he signed his minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves this offseason. Since then Hernandez has done everything asked of him and put up solid numbers as he strives to claim the fifth starter spot in the Braves rotation.

The spring statistics for Hernandez are indeed solid, if not spectacular, considering Hernandez was 1-8 with a 6.40 earned run average last year for the Seattle Mariners. After years of Cy Young caliber pitching, the six-time All-Star has seen his ERA increase from 3.82 to 4.36 to 5.55, before capping out at six and a half last season.

At just 34 years of age though Hernandez insists he is not finished, and his early results are backing his mindset. Through thirteen and two-thirds innings this spring, Hernandez has allowed only three earned runs and has a team high fourteen strikeouts. All this while Cole Hamels has yet to throw a pitch as he battles a sore arm and Mike Foltynewicz has struggled in his early spring action.

What does all this mean? Well, nothing really. Hernandez is putting on a show now and will earn a spot in the Braves rotation when the team heads north, but he will not be able to sustain this quality of pitching. Even looking at his spring numbers, he is giving up a hit an inning with batters collectively hitting .260 off him. He has walked five hitters and has been helped out by a couple of double play balls to get out of innings.

The trip down memory lane has been nice and it has allowed Felix Hernandez a chance at reliving his King Felix days. Don’t get comfortable with these results though, they won’t last.