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Mike Foltynewicz: Future as Starter or Reliever for Braves?

By Jonathan Savitske

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Mike Foltynewicz began his major league career with the Atlanta Braves as a highly touted pitching prospect who projected to be a part of the Braves’ starting rotation.

Over the course of the 2015 season, Mike Foltynewicz has struggled as a starter, leading to two demotions back to AAA Gwinnett to continue to develop. Foltynewicz possesses a power arm, with the ability to throw in the 9g to 99 mph range, but has penchant for walking opposing hitters. When Foltynewicz gets into trouble, he has difficulty maintaining his command.

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Mike Foltynewicz was acquired by the Atlanta Braves from the Houston Astros in exchange for Evan Gattis. A former number 1 pick of the Astros in the MLB Draft in 2010, Mike Foltynewicz was considered one of the best prospects in the Astros system before he came to Atlanta. With a plus fastball, slider, and curve, Foltynewicz has the pitching repertoire to be a dominant hurler in the league.

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The problem with Mike Foltynewicz’s command can be attributed to a couple of factors. At only 23-years-old and in his first full season at the big-league level, he is still learning how to pitch to major league hitters. As a young pitcher, it is common to see struggles in command.

Another issue with Foltynewicz thus far in 2015 is the lack of movement on his pitches. Though he can smoke a fastball down the middle at 99 mph, if it’s over the plate and completely devoid of movement, a major league hitter will crush the ball, as evidenced by the 14 home-runs he has allowed to opposing hitters this season and a 5.23 ERA. Saturday night’s game was one of the best of Folty’s young career, as he only allowed 2 earned runs in 5.2 innings pitched.

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Given his high ERA but possessing electric stuff, is a relief role a better place for the Atlanta Braves to put Mike Foltynewicz? Foltynewicz was briefly used as a long-relief pitcher in the bullpen where he seemed more confident than as a starter. Without the high expectations of starting a game, he seemed more controlled, allowing his pitching capability and not his emotions to take over.

Though I would love to see Mike Foltynewicz become a dominant starter for the Braves in the future, I believe a more likely outcome will be that Foltynewicz will be moved to the bullpen where he will either setup for Arodys Vizcaino or close games himself. With his electric arm, he would be one of the best fireballers in the league.

At this juncture of the season, Mike Foltynewicz is still a part of the Atlanta Braves’ starting rotation. With pitchers like Tyrell Jenkins and perhaps Max Fried ready to make the jump to the majors next season, if Folty can’t put things together as a starter, he will most likely become a cog in the Braves’ future relief corps. 

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