MINORS FINAL 4/20/15 Folty loses 3-hitter

[chop2chip]

Perhaps a reason for this excellent Folty outing - a new pitch!

Earning a win wasn't the only goal for the 23-year-old, though. He debuted a new pitch -- a hard slider -- and in the process tallied a season high in strikeouts. The learning curve might have cost him as he felt out his improved secondary offering early and gave up a run on a bloop single.

"After my last outing, [the Braves] wanted me to throw a hard slider, somewhere in the 85, 86, 87 range," Foltynewicz said. "My whole life, I could never get it over 81 or 82. But they said, 'As hard as you throw, you should have a power slider.'"

http://m.milb.com/news/article/20150420119472336/

[Oklahomabrave]

This kid probably has the highest ceiling of all our prospects, developing a hard slider to go with his fastball, and even an average change up, will go a long way to keep him in the rotation.

[thethe]

The future is really bright. This year has been so much fun and its only going to get better in 2016 moving forward. I just hope that all the fans can enjoy this now after the tough offseason.

[Jay212033]

He needs to pick Smoltz' brain. He has stuff eerily similar to his.

[nsacpi]

BTW, what's going on with Brave lefty Chris Diaz? I haven't heard anything about him in some time now.

Wondering about Parsons too. Neither have been assigned a team.

[Tapate50]

Weber on the bullpen radar at all?

[Hawk]

Perhaps a reason for this excellent Folty outing - a new pitch!

Earning a win wasn't the only goal for the 23-year-old, though. He debuted a new pitch -- a hard slider -- and in the process tallied a season high in strikeouts. The learning curve might have cost him as he felt out his improved secondary offering early and gave up a run on a bloop single.

"After my last outing, [the Braves] wanted me to throw a hard slider, somewhere in the 85, 86, 87 range," Foltynewicz said. "My whole life, I could never get it over 81 or 82. But they said, 'As hard as you throw, you should have a power slider.'"

http://m.milb.com/news/article/20150420119472336/

So how do you take an 81-mph slider and turn it into an 87-mph slider? It's like throwing an egg, Foltynewicz said.

"I really choke all my pitches, I grab the ball as hard as I can," he said. "But with the slider, they said they want me to hold it like an egg. Turn the knob at the end, throw it like it's a fastball and give it a little turn. I'm trying to make it happen, I was trying to get the spin on it, and it was popping up.

Oh, yeah, apparently he was hitting 99 in the 8th at around/over 100 pitches. That's almost Verlander-esque.

[The Chosen One]

Folty will have TJ surgery with this new pitch. Lol.

[thethe]

This is a great example as to why the Braves should always focus on pitching. Thats what the organization does best with younger players. Then you trade these chips for the next Justin Upton that is available.

Thats really scary if he is all of sudden going to have a borderline plus pitch to go along with his fastball.

[50PoundHead]

Weber on the bullpen radar at all?

Good question. Weber played on a couple of national teams when in high school and the Braves went over slot to sign him after drafting him in the 22nd round in 2009. Phillies drafted him in the 12th round in 2008, but he attended St. Petersburg JC instead. From reports I've read, he doesn't have over-powering stuff, but has the "pitchability" thing going for him. He was compared to Greg Maddux (not in terms of ceiling) when he was drafted in that he's a guy with good control, which his stats bear out. Trouble for him is that he's given up a lot of hits. He'll qualify for minor league free agency at the end of the season.

[chop2chip]

This is a great example as to why the Braves should always focus on pitching. Thats what the organization does best with younger players. Then you trade these chips for the next Justin Upton that is available.

Thats really scary if he is all of sudden going to have a borderline plus pitch to go along with his fastball.

Well his curveball, as is, grades out as plus plus (60). The only issue is he can't throw it consistently. Big he can add a power slider to that repertoire then you have the hallowed third pitch that everyone has been waiting to develop.

[jpx7]

How much worse, or how bad for how long, do Cahill and Stults have to pitch before Foltynewicz, Banuelos, and/or Wisler receive some opportunities at the end of the rotation?

[thethe]

I'd give Cahil 10 starts honestly only because he could legitimately be an option in the future (only after a series of other trades). Stults is a non-factor and should be dumped the minute the Braves feel one of the kids is ready.

[MadduxFanII]

I'd give Cahil 10 starts honestly only because he could legitimately be an option in the future (only after a series of other trades). Stults is a non-factor and should be dumped the minute the Braves feel one of the kids is ready.

10 might be a bit much, but yeah, this is essentially my thought process. We're paying Cahill some non-negligible amount, and we gave up (marginal) talent for him, so he'll get some rope. Plus, he actually has some track record in the distant past. We're not married to him, but we have at least committed to a few dates.

Stults is just a guy we picked up at the bar because it was last call and no one else was around. We should feel free to dump him on the side of the road whenever we decide it's appropriate.

[Millwood1Hitter]

The future is really bright. This year has been so much fun and its only going to get better in 2016 moving forward. I just hope that all the fans can enjoy this now after the tough offseason.

THIS! Now if we could just find a competant (ideally young) manager that can help this youngsters grow and flourish into something great it would be icing on the cake. I'm just not confident Fredi is that guy, past present or in the future. I'm not going to rag on him like some, because all managers make headscratching moves here and there throughout the season, that some work out and some don't, but Fredi is just borderline clueless in all facets of role of being field general.

[Julio3000]

10 might be a bit much, but yeah, this is essentially my thought process. We're paying Cahill some non-negligible amount, and we gave up (marginal) talent for him, so he'll get some rope. Plus, he actually has some track record in the distant past. We're not married to him, but we have at least committed to a few dates.

Stults is just a guy we picked up at the bar because it was last call and no one else was around. We should feel free to dump him on the side of the road whenever we decide it's appropriate.

Chip, is that you?

[clvclv]

How much worse, or how bad for how long, do Cahill and Stults have to pitch before Foltynewicz, Banuelos, and/or Wisler receive some opportunities at the end of the rotation?

My guess is that Stults gets at least 2-3 more starts. If they can find some way to milk him until June there will be no need to worry about any of them gaining Super Two status - you could always send them down around the All-Star break to manipulate the total days they spend on the roster. That would also give the kids the opportunity to string 2-3 good starts together. That would allow Hart the ability to say that the promotion was strictly performance-based and that Stults didn't so much pitch his way off the roster as Folty/Wisler/Banuelos forced their way into the rotation.

[dak]

How much worse, or how bad for how long, do Cahill and Stults have to pitch before Foltynewicz, Banuelos, and/or Wisler receive some opportunities at the end of the rotation?

Mid-June would be the optimal timing. For Foltynewicz, that would delay his free agency by one year. For Wisler and Banuelos, that would ensure they aren't Super Two eligible if they end up sticking at the MLB level. That equates to 11-12 more starts each for Stults and Cahill. If one of them completely implodes before then, I'd prefer to call up Williams Perez since he's a lesser commodity.

[jpx7]

If one of them completely implodes before then, I'd prefer to call up Williams Perez since he's a lesser commodity.

I suppose they could also stretch out Cody Martin or Ian Thomas—though one seems like he already is, and the other seems like he could be, pretty crucial to the current bullpen, especially given the early-season suspension-based attrition.

[thethe]

At this point I think you have to leave Martin in the bullpen. Next year you can figure it out but at this point the pen would implode without his contributions.