David Hale

Injuries to Kris Medlen, Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor (among others) thrust Hale into the rotation to begin the year, and the right-hander more than held his own in four starts (2.31 ERA) before transitioning to a long-relief role. From there, Hale was up and down, posting ERAs of 7.36, 1.54, 3.97 and 5.91 in June, July, August and September, respectively, notching just one win and two holds over the final three months of the season. The organizational pitching depth that once defined the Braves is a thing of past, but the organization decided Hale was an expendable piece and shipped him to Colorado in late January. It's looking like the 27-year-old will get a chance to compete for a spot in spring training, and his stuff should play reasonably well in the thin air of Coors Field given his groundball tendencies (56.7% career rate), but he's still only on the fringe of NL-only consideration.

During his time with Triple-A Gwinnett in 2013, Hale posted good, if rather unspectacular, numbers (3.22 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 6.0 K/9). A third-round pick by the Braves in 2009, Hale's biggest improvement was with his control, as he trimmed his walk rate to 2.8 BB/9, from 4.1 at Double-A Mississippi in 2012. He got the call to make a couple of spot starts for the big club in September, and the right-hander allowed just one run, while striking out 14 batters over 11 innings, and was even included on the team's NLDS roster. The strikeouts were surprising, as he never posted a K/9 over 7.7 at any stop in the minors, but he clearly made an impression on manager Fredi Gonzalez. Gonzalez said that he expects Hale to compete for a spot in the major league rotation this spring, and left open the possibility Hale could be a bullpen option if he's unable to secure a starting role.