Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: venturing into unfamiliar territory

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 26: Nick Williams #5 of the Philadelphia Phillies bats against pitcher Mike Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves as the sun sets during the fifth inning of a game at Citizens Bank Park on July 26, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Braves defeated the Phillies 9-2. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 26: Nick Williams #5 of the Philadelphia Phillies bats against pitcher Mike Soroka #40 of the Atlanta Braves as the sun sets during the fifth inning of a game at Citizens Bank Park on July 26, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Braves defeated the Phillies 9-2. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
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ATLANTA, GA – JULY 6: Max Fried #54 of the Atlanta Braves chats with Pitching Coach Rick Kranitz after being removed from the game against the Miami Marlins at SunTrust Park on July 6, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – JULY 6: Max Fried #54 of the Atlanta Braves chats with Pitching Coach Rick Kranitz after being removed from the game against the Miami Marlins at SunTrust Park on July 6, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

The Atlanta Braves have found some rotation stability with their starting five, but some members of that group are in a place they’ve never been before.

One of the key elements of this Atlanta Braves surge during the Summer months has been the performance their starting pitching.  The hope is that they can keep it going.

Of course, even as that’s being said, Brian Snitker removed Mike Foltynewicz after 5 innings on Tuesday night for no obvious reason… though it could be for the kind of reason that we’ll talk about here:  extra rest.

UPDATE: Brian Snitker took him out for precautionary reasons as Folty looked spent and reported that he’d nearly passed out a couple of times.

As of Tuesday’s game here’s how the starting five have stacked up their innings this season:

Here’s the fine print:

  • Folty adds 51.1 innings in AAA for totals of 143.1 IP over 26 starts
  • Soroka adds 9.1 innings in AAA for totals of 151.2 IP over 27 starts
  • Keuchel had some minor league innings, too, but we’re not terribly worried about him

That “worry” part comes with the innings that Soroka and Fried have thrown.  These are the pitchers who haven’t been here before.  The rest have some history with seasons around-or-beyond 200 innings.

It’s a topic that we’ve raised before, but now it’s here… and is honestly somewhat worrisome.

Mike Soroka is now exactly 1 inning under his professional maximum of 153.2 pitched innings from his Southern League (AA) year in 2017.  Last season, shoulder conditioning issues held him to less than 60 innings.

That hasn’t recurred during this season, but every pitch he throws once the 2nd inning starts during his next outing is New Territory.

Max Fried is already exploring strange new innings.  His previous high was 118.2 innings, and that was way back in 2013 when he was still the property of the Padres – before his Tommy John surgery.

Actually, that might not be fair… it’s tied with his 118.2 innings in 2017.

But it’s not just September we’re thinking about here.

Schedule