Three Cuts: Will Atlanta’s bullpen provide sense of early-season urgency for front office?

Mike Foltynewicz was not perfect in his return to the majors following an extended run of rehab starts. He was not the 2018 All-Star version of himself, the right-hander with the 2.85 ERA and four wins above replacement. He was not expected to be.

In his first official major-league start since taking the mound in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Foltynewicz pitched six serviceable innings with five strikeouts and one walk. He gave up two solo home runs and the wheels started to fall off in the seventh inning, but he was efficient and a clear-cut upgrade for Atlanta’s starting rotation.

If his start against a dangerous Rockies lineup could be considered shaking off some rust, the 27-year-old right-hander is going to be just fine in 2019.

“I felt good with my command tonight. All of my pitches really were working well for me,” said Foltynewicz, who dealt with a bone spur on the back of his throwing elbow during spring training. “Threw some good changeups. Just left a couple fastballs over (the plate), but other than that I thought I had good command of it through the night. Just had one walk. I felt pretty good about that overall.”

Added Brian Snitker: “He was throwing a lot of strikes. Breaking ball was really good. I mean, he looked great.”

Foltynewicz’s return could signal a shift for Atlanta’s rotation. The Braves have seen both extreme highs and extreme lows from its collection of (mostly young) starters with Max Fried and Mike Soroka emerging as potential top-of-the-rotation arms, but the return of their preseason No. 1 should only serve to strengthen the group.

Foltynewicz, Fried, Soroka and Kevin Gausman appear to be entrenched — and that’s yielded strong returns to date.

Fried: 2.30 ERA, 3.46 FIP

Soroka: 1.69 ERA, 2.64 FIP

Gausman: 4.80 ERA, 4.10 FIP

(Gausman has looked better than the numbers suggest, ranking in the top 70th percentile or better in opponent exit velocity, hard hit percentage, strikeout percentage and fastball velocity.)

Spotty production remains for veteran fifth starter Julio Teheran (5.40 ERA, 4.59 FIP) but he’s missing bats at a career-high clip and the Braves have a surplus of young arms waiting in Triple-A: Sean Newcomb, Kyle Wright, Touki Toussaint and Bryse Wilson, each of whom have shown flashes at the major-league level. MLB insider Ken Rosenthal also linked Atlanta to Madison Bumgarner over the weekend, though paying a “top-of-the-rotation” prospect price for the left-handed rental would be rather absurd. (Bumgarner has not put up ace-type numbers since 2016, though his services would obviously be welcomed at SunTrust Park.)

The Braves have reasons for optimism in the starting rotation and plenty of options — again, both internal and external — to upgrade.

Though their collective production does not rank in the top half of the league, extreme outlier starts and health setbacks hold them back. (Keep in mind: Foltynewicz, Soroka and Gausman were not on the Opening Day roster.)

Atlanta clearly has pitching issues; it’s the leading cause for their sub-.500 record. The starting staff is nowhere near the top of that list right now. 

Jason Getz