What Is Wrong With Braves’ Mike Foltynewicz?
Photo: Brett Davis/USA Today Sports
Another start for Mike Foltynewicz, another disappointing result. Last night the Braves’ starting pitcher made his fourth start of the season and gave up eight earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals, an offense that’s been struggling. Throughout Folty’s four starts this season, he has an 8.02 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. In those 21.1 innings, he’s given up 26 hits and 19 earned runs. Even his minor league rehab appearances didn’t go well before joining Atlanta’s rotation. As a Braves fan, I’m wondering what my level of concern should be for Mike Foltynewicz at this point.
Folty had a great year last year compiling 13 wins in 183 innings pitched with just a 2.85 ERA. He had taken a big step forward and everyone assumed he had fully adjusted to pitching at the big league level. We always knew he had a lot of potential, and he put it together last season. But with elbow discomfort due to a bone spur early this season, he missed most of Spring Training. A few weeks into the season he made several minor league rehab starts, which weren’t that good, before making his season debut on April 27. Nobody expected Folty to pick right up where he left off coming off an injury, but the problem is he has been downright awful.
You can chalk some of it up to rust, considering this last month has been like his Spring Training. But with his numbers it’s more than that. He’s got way too much talent and good stuff to be struggling like this, four starts in. One area of concern is the drop in his fastball velocity. It averaged at 96.3 mph last season and this year has yet to exceed 94.7. Last night it was just 93.5 mph. Folty says his elbow is perfectly fine at this point, so what can it be? Even Foltynewicz himself doesn’t seem to know, but admits he might have to make an adjustment to learn to pitch with a slower velocity and be more concerned with hitting spots.
His slider also hasn’t been getting the movement he is accustomed to and has been very inconsistent. With his fastball velocity down and an inconsistent slider, what kind of pitcher is Foltynewicz? Even more importantly, if those things don’t change for the better, what kind of pitcher can Foltynewicz become?
One thing that I noticed last night is Folty’s inability to control his emotions. He’s always been someone who has worn his emotions on his sleeve, but oftentimes lets his emotions get the better of him. I know he was extremely frustrated last night, as he should be, but also as a major league pitcher, he’s got to do a better job at controlling those emotions. I think part of the problem for Folty this year is in his head. He was in such a hurry to get back into the rotation and contribute to this team in a way like he did last year, so now that he’s back and struggling mightily is too much for him to handle. I may be totally wrong about this, but just watching him pitch last night I get that feeling. He’s easily frustrated and cannot control it.
Chalk it up to rust, chalk it up to lingering elbow problems, or chalk it up to mental toughness, but something is definitely not right with Mike Foltynewicz. I think part of it can be attributed to him missing Spring Training and he’s still shaking off the cobwebs, but I think more than anything it’s mental right now. He needs to have a good outing badly to give him the shot of confidence he needs going forward. Once he gets over a few mental hurdles, I believe he can, and will, get back to the Mike Foltynewicz that we became accustomed to seeing last year. The next step is uncertain, however. It’s not clear if he will get another start in Atlanta’s rotation in five days, be sent back down to Triple-A, or be placed on the DL. We will have to wait and see. But here’s to hoping that he makes all the necessary adjustments to regain his 2018-form.
Garett