The Braves have plenty of experience with young pitchers and their growing pains, so they aren't panicking about Julio Teheran's poor start.
"I think it's a process," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez told MLB.com Friday. "The Braves have always been in a position to keep running them out there."
Teheran's ERA is 7.31, but the Braves have worked through growing pains with successful pitchers like Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor.
"We've got to be patient with him," Gonzalez said. "Yesterday we could have easily got him out of that situation and put somebody else in there. But we didn't. We let him get out of it."
Gonzalez knows what Teheran can do based on his minor-league production, as well as the 1.04 ERA in six spring starts that earned him his place in his rotation. According to MLB.com, Teheran has struggled to command his fastball and has not had confidence in his offspeed pitches. Teheran's fastball velocity averages 91.0, down from 92.1 last season, according to PitchFx data. He has thrown just 54.6 percent of his fastballs for strikes.
"Everybody, including myself, saw the spring training success," Gonzalez said. "But it's not spring training any more. The lights are on and he's facing major-league hitters. It's a process of going through this stuff."