Will Playing for Team USA Hurt Craig Kimbrel and Kris Medlen?

COMMENTARY | The announcement of the provisional roster for the United States team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic brought excitement to Atlanta Braves pitchers Craig Kimbrel and Kris Medlen, who were named to the squad on Thursday.

The 24-year-old Kimbrel, who has become one of MLB’s top closers over his first two seasons in the big leagues, is coming off a 2012 campaign in which he recorded 42 saves to go with 116 strikeouts and a 1.01 ERA. The right-hander blew just three save opportunities and issued only 14 walks all season.

The 27-year-old Medlen began last season in the bullpen, but moved to the starting rotation in July and ultimately finished with a dazzling 10-1 record and a 1.57 ERA. The diminutive righty established himself as the Braves’ ace and was chosen to start the first-ever National League Wild Card play-in game against the St. Louis Cardinals, albeit in a losing effort.

If you ask me, there’s no real downside to Kimbrel and Medlen competing for Team USA in the WBC. However, some naysayers think it could mess up their normal routines, as they will have to leave the rest of their Braves teammates after the first week of the Grapefruit League season to join their fellow Americans.

To me, such an opinion is ridiculous. When taking into account the youth of both players as well as the length of Spring Training, which many people complain about anyway, I undoubtedly feel that Kimbrel and Medlen will continue to be the same reliable hurlers they have proven to be when Opening Day rolls around on April 1st.

The WBC is something different, that’s for sure, but it could end up being a blessing in disguise for two of the most important pieces of Atlanta’s future. As I stated, Kimbrel and Medlen will receive a week with their regular club to get their feet under them before heading to Phoenix for first-round pool play, where they will compete in meaningful games rather than the exhibitions that they would be involved in back in Florida. What’s not to like?

Could they get injured? Absolutely. That’s always a possibility.

Could they get knocked around a bit? Sure. That happens all the time in preseason games – or regular season games, for that matter.

Could they continue their dominance? There’s a great chance of that as well.

The thing is, worrying about injuries or getting dusted up or off-schedule is only going to cause such occurrences. You can’t play with your head on a swivel or give less than 100% because that’s when bad things tend to happen.

I, for one, am glad to hear that Kimbrel and Medlen will be representing both Atlanta and Team USA in the WBC. I want my country to do its best, so why wouldn’t I want two of the game’s top young pitchers on the squad, especially when they are members of my favorite MLB franchise? I’m more interested in beating other countries than I am in a bunch of silly Grapefruit League games.

It’s not that Spring Training doesn’t have its place. Some guys make their names in such contests. But for the more well-established players and us diehard baseball fans, it drags on just a few weeks too long. Personally, I’m usually ready for Opening Day by about the second week of Spring Training.

But I digress.

To make this short and sweet, all we need to do as members of Braves Country is stand up and chop. We have to let the chips fall where they may, but having two of our own on Team USA is something to be excited about.

Source: ESPN.com

Josh McKinney is a lifelong fan of the Atlanta Braves whose all-time favorite player is Chipper Jones. You can follow McKinney on Twitter @SuperJMac32.