Braves ace Julio Teheran pitched a strong game on Tuesday. Mike Foltynewicz looked to do the same on Wednesday. Matt Wisler and Williams Perez were to follow in the rotation with similar aspirations.
It doesn’t always work out that way for each of the Braves’ four 25-and-under starting pitchers but the idea is for the next guy to top the previous guy.
“That’s all we do,” Foltynewicz said. “We are cheering each other on but at the same time we want to go out the next day and do the same thing or even better. As teammates it’s not like you are cheering against them or anything, but you are pushing them so hard (and) you want to do well yourself. We are all letting the hang of each other and having fun with each other and talking baseball and talking about everything. We’ve got a good group here.”
The Braves have the youngest rotation in the majors, which means there’s lots of promise but also some inconsistency.
Teheran has been consistently good since a couple of early-season stumbles and he was dominant while recording a career-high 12 strikeouts against the Brewers on Tuesday. Foltynewicz and Perez have been up-and-down all year but Wisler lately seems to be finding a groove.
After an inconsistent April Wisler has posted a 1.80 ERA in four May starts with 20 strikeouts and six walks over 30 innings. He pitched at lest 6 2/3 innings in each of those starts and didn’t allow more than three runs.
At 23-years old Wisler is the youngest of the starters but Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said he carries himself like an older player.
“I saw that last year when we got him (in a trade),” Snitker said. “You could tell he was a very mature kid. He was very focused and driven in his work ethic, in just his daily preparation. Mound presence was very good from first time I saw him. There was a lot there to like.”
