Atlanta Braves: Travis d’Arnaud is Sub-Zero, not a flawless victory
By Seth Carter
Could Mike Foltynewicz pitch for the Atlanta Braves again this season?
This is all after the Atlanta Braves unceremoniously DFA’d Mike Foltynewicz after his fastball was averaging 89.3 in his first start. Designating him for assignment was a calculated decision. With his dip in velocity and a fairly high price tag, it was highly unlikely that any team would have claimed him. He has cleared waivers and been assigned to the Braves alternate training site.
The move came just 14 days prior Folty reaching five years of service time. Once a player reaches five years they can decline the outright assignment and become a free agent. Designating Folty gave the Braves an opportunity to keep him with the team in case he gets his game back on track this season.
Ronald Acuna Jr. is leading the league in strikeouts
As of today, Ronald Acuna Jr. is leading the league in strikeouts. He has 17 strikeouts in 33 at-bats this season with just three walks. He’s hitting .152 to start the year and looks like he’s swinging out of his shoes and off-balance for the most part. I believe he’s made some progress in the past couple of games.
When the kid first came up people (including myself) often discussed the smooth beauty of his swing as somewhat Griffey-esque. The 2020 version of Acuna’s swing is nothing of the sort.
The past two seasons, Acuna has been inside the top seven percent in barrels in the league.
Fun Fact: A barrel is a statistic that measures the launch angle and the exit velocity of the ball. If ball is hit at 98 mph and has a launch angle between 26-30 degrees then it’s barreled. The harder the ball is hit, the wider the launch angle range is. Balls that meet the parameters of being barreled carry about a .500 average and a 1.500 OPS. It’s basically the best ball you can hit to do damage.
Anyway, back to what I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by that fun fact, Acuna has yet to barrel one ball this season. He’s hit a few hard ones and sent a few meatballs on a ride, but he still hasn’t centered one up in the sweet spot.
Kevin Seitzer will get him straightened out. Acuna is due for a serious market correction.
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It was certainly a fun game and had the never-say-die attitude the Braves have become known for in the past couple of seasons. Just wait until Acuna and Albies start hitting at the top of the order.