LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – The Braves used a franchise-record 16 starting pitchers in 2016, and together they labored to a 4.87 ERA, which ranked fourth-highest in the majors, and 684 strikeouts, the fourth-fewest in the majors.
So they overhauled the starting rotation in the offseason by bringing in a trio of veteran starters on one-year contracts or in the final season of multi-year deals. The logic being that former Cy Young Award winners Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey, plus left-hander Jaime Garcia, would help assure the Braves are competitive in the first season at SunTrust Park while serving as a bridge until some of their own pitching prospects are ready to move into the rotation.
They think that the next wave of pitching prospects, plus the wave after that, can comprise the next golden era of Braves pitching.
But what about this year’s rotation? While it remains to be seen how much 42-year-old knuckleballer Dickey and soon-to-be 44-year-old Colon have left in the tank, and whether Garcia can stay healthy, the potential is there for the Braves to have one of the more diverse starting rotations in recent memory.
That trio of newcomers joins incumbent All-Star Julio Teheran and second-year starter Mike Foltynewicz in a group that will offer opponents an entirely different look each night from the Braves starter they faced the night before. And if they’re pitching effectively, that can be a big advantage for Atlanta.
“And a lefty in there, too — that’s nice as well,” said catcher Tyler Flowers, who went from having a majority of lefties in the White Sox rotation to having none in the Braves’ rotation in his first season with the team. “I was missing my lefty last year. In Chicago I had, like, all lefties, so it was a little different.”
What will be different this year is the style of pitcher faced each night by Braves opponents, from Dickey’s knuckleballs to Foltynewicz’s 94-97 mph fastballs. (Some teams will face those two on consecutive nights as they start the season with Dickey in the No. 4 spot in the rotation and Foltynewicz at No. 5.)
“They really are (different),” said Flowers, speaking of the entire rotation. “Each of them brings, like, a little different element. Obviously a knuckleballer’s here. There’s some deception with Folty, a guy with real high velocity. You’ve got Jaime, who has a real good change-up from the left side, good breaking ball. Bartolo sinking it all over the place, good command. And then Julio kind of the more generic of the bunch, I guess you’d say. He just kind of does it all.
“It’s a good mix, however everything lines up. It’s going to be no advantage for the opposition because everybody’s so different. Which is good. That’s a nice wrinkle to have in there, instead of five righties that are 90-93 (mph). Everybody’s different, even two guys who throw 93, it’s a different kind of 93, just from their height and a lot of other things. I feel like the more different you can be, it presents a new challenge for whoever we’re playing.”
Dickey has been part of all manner of starting rotations through the years. He, too, likes the different styles that this Braves group will present, but points out that it won’t matter unless they pitch effectively and deep into games. That was the other big reason the Braves’ front office chose these three. Colon has pitched 190 or more innings in four consecutive seasons, Dickey averaged nearly 220 innings during 2011-15, and Garcia worked 171 2/3 innings last season.
“I think it’s going to be great. We offer a ton of looks,” Dickey said. “I think what could be fun is the array of different styles really gives a uniqueness to this rotation. But for us, as for any rotation, it’s going to be about getting deep in games and staying healthy. That’s what we’re going to be centered on as a group. We need to get deep into games, give our team a chance to win — quality starts, innings pitched, things like that are very important to a staff over the course of a season.”
Braves starters ranked 22nd in the majors last season with 880 1/3 innings in 161 games, more than 100 fewer than the Blue Jays, Cubs and Giants starters in 162 games. The added stress undoubtedly contributed to the bullpen’s late-season struggles.
Foltynewicz, the hardest thrower among Braves starters and the only one in the rotation without a wealth of experience — — he has just 37 starts in parts of two seasons — will begin the season in the fifth spot, pitching after a knuckleballer for the first time in his career.
“We’ll see how that plays out,” he said, smiling. “It may take a minute or two for (hitters) to get adjusted. When you’re throwing that knuckleball that dances, to a straight fastball that’s 95, 96, it’s going to be a little tough. I look forward to seeing how that plays out during the season, if it’s an advantage or a disadvantage. But I’m very excited to see how it goes.”
Even before the season begins, the veteran newcomers have had an impact on the team’s younger pitchers, Foltynewicz said.
“Those guys have made us younger dudes more comfortable in the clubhouse,” he said. “They’re great dudes, they’re open to talk to you. We goof around, but at the same time we’re out there doing (pitcher’s fielding practice) and they’re out there busting their butts, too. They’re veterans, they’ve been around the game a long time, and it’s awesome to see them guys out there busting their butts and coming out and just joking around with us and just being normal human beings.
“Great additions to the team, they’re going to help everybody in the clubhouse and help us win games, too.”
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