Atlanta Braves early struggles go far deeper than Mike Foltynewicz

The 2020 season has not gone as planned thus far for the Atlanta Braves.

After an encouraging opening series by taking two of three from the Mets, things turned around drastically last night for the Braves.

Once one of Atlanta’s top prospects, Mike Foltynewicz, took the mound against Tampa Bay to a horrendous performance. A mere 3 innings pitched to the tune of 4 walks and six earned runs. The game would end with 14 on the board the other way and Foltynewicz designated to assignment.

Foltynewicz’s decline since a stellar 2018 seems to have reached its tipping point for the Braves, but struggles for Atlanta have come both at the mound and the plate.

Last night, Atlanta struck out 19 times for a total of 52 over a four-game period. That is dangerously close to the nine-inning game record of 20 strikeouts.

Then, add in the fact that behind the plate, Atlanta is still waiting on the return of Tyler Flowers and Travis d’Arnaud, both suffering from COVID-19 symptoms.

Mike Foltynewicz’s start may be a sign of things to come for the Braves.

Things may continue to spiral downhill for the Braves as well. The top half of their rotation is strong, as Mike Soroka allowed no runs in six innings of work in the opener. That was followed by 2 earned runs from Max Fried the following day. Sean Newcomb even delivered in just three innings of action.

After that, though, it becomes a bit complicated for the Braves. Foltynewicz clearly struggled and reinforcements in Cole Hamels and Felix Hernandez are both on the sidelines, the former due to injury and the latter opted-out of the season, while Jhoulys Chacin seems to be utilized in a relief role.

Now, it is up to Kyle Wright, who had a brutal debut in the majors last season, to fill the void. The bullpen has looked good for Atlanta, but the lack of confidence in the latter half of the rotation does not bode well when depth rules the game.