We are just three days away from when the Atlanta Braves open their season on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies.
While much has been made about how strong the Braves lineup is--as it should be with Ronald Acu˜ña Jr., Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman, and Marcell Ozuna--are people overlooking how good the starting rotation will be?
Is the Braves pitching rotation underrated heading into the 2021 season?
"I think they are definitely underrated," 92.9 The Game Braves' reporter Joe Patrick told the Midday Show.
"I think that Charlie Morton's coming back from--you know, he's a guy who was, I think, underrated last year. I think people think that it was starting to fall off for him, but he's looked fantastic this spring."
Morton has a 0.00 ERA allowing only eight hits, one run (no earned), and striking out nine through 10 1/3 innings pitched.
However, there is another Braves pitcher that Patrick says is the most underrated on the staff.
"I continue to be higher than basically anybody I know on Drew Smyly," Patrick said. "I think he's going to be a really, really solid pitcher this year. I think he'll be one of the most underrated players for the Braves. I think that he's going to be one of the reasons why this rotation is going to be one of the best in baseball."