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Atlanta Braves mailbag: Rule changes, Taijuan Walker, and Brock Holt

By Fred Owens

The Atlanta Braves prepare to enter the 2020 season with hew roster rules across the league. to make roster changes.(Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
The Atlanta Braves prepare to enter the 2020 season with hew roster rules across the league. to make roster changes.(Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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Even a crystal ball this size can’t foretell the Atlanta Braves roster moves. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images) /

Tell me the future

Aside from the obvious – that the Atlanta Braves will extend Freddie Freeman –  the club doesn’t face many extension decisions in the near future. The only everyday player apart from Freeman even close is Dansby Swanson, and he’s not eligible to depart until 2023.

Only one member of the starting rotation sits atop the potential extension list, and RazorReb (@Reb2112) wants to know if the Braves will extend Mike Foltynewicz or let him walk.

Mike signed a $6.425M arbitration deal for 2020, and barring something unforeseen, will see that jump to near $10M next season.

He’s been a polarizing figure since arriving from Houston, but it’s hard to see the Braves letting the high-90s fastball and hard slider displayed in 2018, and after his return, last season, walk away. Much depends on how his 2020 goes.

If Mike pitches as he did in 2018, the Braves will do well to extend him. At his best, Mike compares with Zack Wheeler. Both pitchers are 28-years old and posted up-and-down seasons. These are their 2018 numbers:

IP TBF BB SO H HR WHIP Whiff Chase GB% ERA
183 744 68 202 130 17 1.08 10.3% 26.8% 43.1% 2.85
 182 744 55 179 150 14 1.12 10.7% 33.5% 44.2% 3.31

If you watch stats closely, you’ll know which is which, but for those who don’t, Foltynewicz is on top and Wheeler below.

I know Mike screwed up his mechanics after 2018 and started 2019 badly. When he returned from Gwinnett, he looked like the 2018 version.

ERA G GS IP TBF H R ER HR BB SO FIP
2.65 10 10 57.2 231 45 18 17 7 17 55 3.77

If he’s anywhere near that in 2020, a contract similar to Wheeler’s isn’t out of line. He’d be two years older than Zack was when the new Phillie hit free agency, and that should hold the cost down a bit.

Something around five years and $18m per year looks about right if done after this season. That would take him through his age-34 season.

Atlanta Braves: Too right-handed?

Mike McClanahan ( @McClanMan) wonders if the lineup now has too many right-handed hitters.

It’s hard to see that being a problem in the lineup.  The Braves replaced Josh Donaldson with Marcell Ozuna; both hit right-handed.

Ozuna had an odd reverse split last season when he batted just .217/.270/.482 against LHP, but in the previous three seasons combined, there’s no significant difference. The only position where the Braves aren’t sure what to expect is third base.

Johan Camargo would like to forget 2019. His bat made only guest appearances, as he batted…

  • .233/.279/.384/.663 overall,
  • .215/.282/.415/.697 against LHP and
  • .240/.278/.371/.650 against RHP.

The Braves hope Camargo will find his 2018 form, where he had virtually even splits, albeit with fewer PA against RHP.

Markakis becomes the lefty bench bat; that’s a drop off in power from last year, but hopefully, he’ll figure out how to stay in a groove without getting 25 PA a week.

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