Is Foltynewicz the Atlanta Braves future ace or flame-throwing reliever

Final Statements

I personally would rather Foltynewicz continue as the Atlanta Braves ace and take a John Smoltz-like path where he has his prime years as the ace or frontline starter and then eventually head to the bullpen if desired or just be a starter for the rest of his career. Foltynewicz has proved time and time again (along with Newcomb) that he can go long periods and still reach upper-90s even at 90+ pitches.

Preferably he doesn’t have to constantly run into trouble where he reaches 90+ when it’s only the fourth or fifth inning, but he’s shown he can keep the opponents at bay enough for the Braves offense. Don’t forget those gem performances when he gets to 7+ innings while striking out double digits as well.

He completed his complete game against the Giants at 108 pitches and 75 of them were strikes, striking out 7.

So his ability to go long distances should be a major argument for him to be a starter rather than a reliever that usually goes two innings max. Plus, why take him out of the rotation when he’s been one of the more consistent things happening for the rotation this season.

It’s like those that say the Braves should move Ronald Acuña Jr. to the middle of the lineup even though he’s dominating in the lead-off role. We know he’s hitting a lot of homers and though it’s mostly solos because he’s leading off, what if he slumps at clean-up? It’ll be the same fans that want Snitker fired for moving him.

Usually you only move the player when it’s not working, i.e. Inciarte taken from lead-off. If Acuña is doing so well there, keep him there but that’s another discussion for another day.

Back to Mike Foltynewicz. With so much change coming to the rotation, especially this point on as the prospects continue to knock on the door, Foltynewicz should be the young-veteran-ish leader the Braves will need.

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Teheran has become such a wildcard because you don’t know when he’ll be hot or cold, and his future with the Braves seem to get more and more questionable every offseason.

I said at the beginning of the season when Teheran set the record for most Braves Opening Day starts that this will also probably be his last OD start for Atlanta and I still believe that.

I think Foltynewicz will get the start on Opening Day 2019, unless the Atlanta Braves get an ace along the lines of Jacob DeGrom. The Braves will start 2019 on the road, so even if the Braves were to get a top pitcher, they’ll probably save him for the home opener. Kevin Gausman would probably be the runner-up for the home opener if no outside help comes in.

So what do you think, do you believe Mike Foltynewicz will continue to develop into an ace or is he destined to become a high-end bullpen asset for the Atlanta Braves?