Spring training had begun and the Atlanta Braves and Kris Medlen we’re ready to defend their National League East title. A lot of experts had the Braves winning the NL East for the second straight year due in large part to Medlen and the return of Brandon Beachy. Than in a matter of days things went from great to American horror story for the Braves pitching rotation. Medlen was gone to Tommy John, Beachy was gone to Tommy John and the Nationals bandwagon filled up. The Braves had little to no options but luckily had a solid number of arms that could allow them to compete. It was looking like the rotation would include; Mike Minor, Julio Teheran, Alex Wood and David Hale.

At first look this rotation isn’t horrible but it lacks intimidation compared to the Washington Nationals. The Braves organization realized this so they went out and made the best move they could possibly make. That move was signing the righty from  recent Kansas City, Ervin Santana.

Santana has a career ERA of 4.15 with 1,325 strikeouts over 1,702.2 inning pitched. The ERA is not what you would consider stud worthy but his numbers from 2013 would say otherwise. Over 32 starts and 211 inning pitched Santana compiled a 3.24 ERA to go with 161 strikeouts and a 2.9 WAR. The fact that he threw for a 3.24 ERA in the American League can give you reason to believe that those numbers could be lowered substantially once in the National League.

Although it is very early in the season it is looking like the Braves have made the right move and have indeed collected themselves an ace. Santana has pitched in three games with 21 innings of work under his belt. He has an ERA of 0.86 which is the third best ERA of any starting pitcher in baseball. In fact, one of the pitchers that has a better ERA than him is teammates Aaron Harang who the Braves also picked up this offseason.

Santana is a breath of fresh air and an absolute joy to watch on the field. Whenever the camera is panned his way there is a big smile on his face. He is playing the game right and is enjoying every minute of it. He’s been absolutely brilliant this season and would help out any fantasy team. Oh and did I mention that he also has 24 strikeouts over his three games? Yeah, this guy is legit and if he stays healthy he could mess around and be in the Cy Young talks.