Braves Couldn't Have Made a Better Call Giving Dallas Keuchel Game 1 Against Cardinals

Remember when teams stayed away from Dallas Keuchel this offseason because of his contract demands? Well, now the veteran lefty is the starting Game 1 of the NLDS.

This guy had a Cy Young under his belt and ample postseason experience. But still it wasn't necessarily a foregone conclusion that the Atlanta Braves, who signed him two months into the season, would hand him the ball for their first playoff game. After all, Mike Soroka will likely finish in the top three of the NL Cy Young voting.

When all was said and done, however, the right decision was made when the club announced Tuesday it will roll with Keuchel in the series opener against the Cardinals.

That quote alone should be all we need to say the Braves clearly made the right call, but why stop there?

In regards to Atlanta, Keuchel has, by a significant margin, the most postseason starts under his belt for with nine. And the 31-year-old southpaw has fared pretty well in those outings, logging a 4-2 record with a 3.31 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 48 strikeouts in 51.2 innings.

The Braves' decision makes even more sense when you break down his playoff splits into his career numbers as a Game 1 starter. Folks, he owns a 1.37 ERA in 19.2 innings (three starts)!

This settlement wasn't about who was Atlanta's best pitcher this season. That label goes to the 22-year-old Soroka, who was nothing short of brilliant.

It wasn't about how Keuchel finished 2019. For those wondering, he was pretty woeful.

This settlement came down to the reason they signed Keuchel back in June: he can handle the pressure of the postseason stage. Couple that with the sheer youth and inexperience of the rest of the Braves rotation, and there really was no other choice.