Braves Reinforce Bullpen Call Foltynewicz Before Coors
By Fred Owens
Mark Bowman reports that the Braves recalled Mike Foltynewicz as bullpen depth before heading to Coors.
Coors Causes Bullpen Concerns
We all know how games can get away from a team at Coors field and destroy a bullpen in one horrendous game. The Braves reinforced their bullpen after Sunday’s game with Arodys Vizcaino and David Carpenter (Carp Mark II) but still lacked a long man in the event an early exit for the starter. That wasn’t a huge concern in Milwaukee but Denver is a wholly different environment. Adding Foltynewicz fills that void as we head to the mile high city home of the Rockies and decimator of pitching staffs.
According to Bowman the Braves intend for Folty to remain a starter and this is only a temporary measure so hell return to Gwinnett after the break barring injury or trade.
Foltynewicz So Far This Season
Foltynewicz started the season with Gwinnett and was called up to the Braves making his first start in May. Folty made nine start with inconsistent results that as I wrote prior to his demotion, was due in good part to who his catcher on the day.
Although the sample size is small and catcher ERA on its own is not enough to use in making a decision, that trend continued during his four starts at Gwinnett.
| Catcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | WHIP |
| Christian Bethancourt | 17 | 18 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 18 | 4 | 5.29 | 1.706 |
| Jose Yepez | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1.29 | 1.143 |
In 2014 The Astros used Folty in relief nine times. In those 18 2/3 innings he posted a 5.30 ERA – 4.85 FIP –,1.607 WHIP while striking out 14 and walking seven.
That’s A Wrap.
I hope someone gave Fredi Gonzalez a memo that said, “use Folty only to start an inning.” He’s clearly not a seasoned bullpen arm and we know he can be wild and have trouble in the first inning. Those reasons are why I worry that Fredi might use him in the wrong spot; the skipper is not known for wise bullpen decisions. This seems a call up we have to hope they don’t have reason to use.
Every call up is accompanied by a demotion and Joey Terdoslavich was the guy who got the plane ticket home. Joey might well have stayed had he hit at all but this return trip but since being called up in June his .167/.200/.292/.492 line gave the team no reason to allow him to stay.