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The Blue Jays welcome the Atlanta Braves to the Rogers Centre for a three-game set this weekend with the first game going tonight at 7:07 pm. The pitching matchup sees the third start for both teams' Opening Day starters in Drew Hutchison and Julio Teheran.
The 24-year-old Teheran was signed as an international free agent by the Braves in 2007 and rose steadily through their prospect lists alongside fellow pitcher Randall Delgado (who has since been traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks). The 6'2" righty is in his third full season with the Braves and has been the clear ace since he burst onto the scene at age 22. Atlanta jumped on him early signing him to a contract extension after his first full season in the major leagues signing him to an extension that included his first free agent year and an option for a second in 2020.
In his two starts this year, Teheran has pitched quite well allowing only two earned runs in 12.0 innings against the Marlins and Mets (not the strongest lineups to be fair). The Colombian throws a fastball and sinker in the low-90's along with a slider, changeup, and a curveball. His fastball is solid enough to get him into counts where he can flash his nasty breaking stuff that gets him a lot of whiffs and prevents hitters from being able to guess on his heater.
His movement chart shows how tricky the righty can be and makes you a little bit worried with how the fastball-mashing Jays might look against him tonight:
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Hopeful Lineup
- Devon Travis 2B
- Josh Donaldson 3B
- Jose Bautista RF
- Edwin Encarnacion DH
- Justin Smoak 1B
- Russell Martin C
- Kevin Pillar LF
- Dalton Pompey CF
- Ryan Goins SS
Bullpen Usage
Looks like Marco Estrada and Aaron Loup likely won't be available today, with Roberto Osuna and Miguel Castro likely to feature in the contest unless it's extremely lopsided.
| Pitcher | Usage |
| Miguel Castro |
Three Days Ago: 1.1 IP, 21 pitches |
| Brett Cecil |
Two Days Ago: 0.1 IP, 3 pitches |
| Marco Estrada | One Day Ago: 3.0 IP, 43 pitches |
| Liam Hendriks | Three Days Ago: 1.2 IP, 30 pitches |
| Colt Hynes | Two Days Ago: 0.1 IP, 8 pitches Three Days Ago: 1.0 IP, 19 pitches |
| Aaron Loup |
One Day Ago: 0.2 IP, 11 pitches |
| Roberto Osuna | Four Days Ago: 2.0 IP, 29 pitches Five Days Ago: 1.0 IP, 11 pitches |
Atlanta Braves
Yesterday: Off Day
Two Days Ago: Cody Martin (1.1 IP, 22 pitches), Luis Avilan (1.2 IP, 11 pitches), Brandon Cunniff (1.0 IP, 25 pitches)
Find The Link
Find the link between Julio Teheran and the Braves reliever who shares a name with this man.
Enjoy the game and if you need some happy memories, think back a few decades to the time the Blue Jays won an important series against these Braves.