Good luck hitters: New Braves pitcher has a warning for rest of MLB

When thinking about the Atlanta Braves, often the focus is on their position player talent, and for good reason. The Braves not only boasted baseball's best offense this past season, but it was one of the most dominant in MLB history with star talent littered from top to bottom.

While the bats garner most of the attention, the Braves happen to also have one of the best pitching staffs in the league. Their pitching was a big reason why they won 107 games last season, and it's only gotten better this offseason.

The big move Alex Anthopoulos made was trading for Chris Sale who, when healthy, should help immensely, but an underrated move made by the Braves was the signing of Reynaldo Lopez who should provide not only more depth to an already elite bullpen, but is yet another starting pitching option to join the Braves talented rotation.

Speaking of talented rotations, Lopez likes Atlanta's chances against anyone else. Just hear what he had to say about the Braves' starting pitching.

New Braves pitcher knows just how talented the rotation is

Good luck. That just about sums it up. As much as teams might gloss over their rotation because of the star-studded lineup, Lopez is right. Atlanta's rotation can easily be the league's best if things break their way.

"Very dangerous. I mean, good luck to the hitters. The fact that a lot of guys are healthy and if they can stay healthy...I mean there's such a deep rotation of starters and relievers. Yeah, it's a force."

Health has been a bit of an issue for the Braves rotation in recent years. Max Fried has made 30 starts in a season just once since 2019. Sale hasn't made 30+ starts in a season since 2017. Charlie Morton is 40 years old and ended last season on the IL. What makes this Braves rotation scarier than in years past, though, is their depth.

Lopez is fighting for the fifth spot in the rotation against really quality competition. Bryce Elder had a rough second half of last season but that was after he had been an All-Star in the first half. Let's not ignore top prospects A.J. Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep either. It's unlikely they make the Opening Day roster, but they could easily be called on to help start games in the middle of the season.

Even depth arms like Huascar Ynoa, Darius Vines, Allan Winans, and Dylan Dodd are all capable back-end starters. Depth like this around stars like Sale, Fried, and of course, Spencer Strider, give the Braves a rotation teams should fear.

The Braves have the upside that can take over any given playoff series with Strider, Fried, and Sale, have the veteran in Morton, and have loads of depth. The lineup will always take center stage, but Lopez is just one cog in what looks like a well-oiled machine in Atlanta's rotation. If they can stay healthy, this is just another area of this Braves roster for teams to fear.