RADIO
Mike Foltynewicz Needs To Minimize Base Runners
7 years agoAtlanta Braves starting pitcher Mike Foltynewicz came into the 2017 season off of a 2016 season where he was 9-5 with a 4.31 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, but took a step backwards. He posted a 10-13 record and 4.79 ERA for the Braves last season, allowing 169 hits in 154 innings and walking 3.4 batters per nine. Foltynewicz did see an uptick in strikeouts (8.1 in 2016 to 8.4 last season), but his 2.42 K:BB was his worst in a full season. He saw a slight dip in innings pitched per start (5.6 to 5.5) and also saw his FIP rise from 4.22 to 4.33 in 2017. That being said, his FIP has been below his his ERA in each of the last two seasons, but his ground ball percentage did dip to 39.4% last season. While his hard hit ball allowed dropped from 29.8% to 28.1%, he allowed more medium hit balls and saw his soft hit ball rate drop from 20.4% to 15.8%. He allowed 24.4% line drives and saw his K-BB% drop from 14.5% to 12.1% year over year. Foltynewicz is using the fastball less and less over his four MLB seasons, down from 62.6% in 2016 to 60.8% last season. There is a chance that Folynewicz turns it around in 2018, but the upside just does not seem to be there for him to be drafted in any format.
