Kris Medlen drops in the rankings

Some Braves beat writers -- specifically, Mark Bowman of MLB.com -- have passed it off as common knowledge that prospect Alex Wood will join the starting rotation before the end of the month, which leads me to believe Kris Medlen won't be able to avoid a return to the bullpen this time around. How else would the Braves get Wood in there? Trading Paul Maholm? I don't see anyone matter-of-factly predicting that.

I can't help but feel misled by this whole turn of events. When Medlen dominated down the stretch late last year, the prevailing attitude within major media was "oh, look how brilliant the Braves are, hiding Medlen in the bullpen for a couple months knowing he'd be their ace in the hole down the stretch. Too bad the Nationals can't take a page from their book. Snicker, snicker, cough, snicker." And the Braves didn't exactly refute that story. Everyone acted like they knew this was coming all along, which only bolstered my belief that Medlen was the real deal.

Teams don't move real-deal pitchers to the bullpen, OK? My guess is the Braves stretched Medlen out midway through last season simply because they knew he was someone they could stretch out and were as surprised as anyone by the results. So now they don't really care what role he fills in the long run.

And in that case, why should I? Whether he starts or relieves, my faith in Medlen is shaken. He's now only 44th in my starting pitcher rankings.