A few weeks ago, I examined the possibility of both Mike Foltynewicz and Sean Newcomb potentially returning to the majors to see what they have before the postseason. I highly recommend checking those out, as there’s a pretty decent case for both guys to make an appearance on the club before the playoff run. However, barring injury, it’s not looking likely.
Kyle Wright was fantastic yesterday against the Mets. Over his last two starts, he has two wins — going a combined 12.1 innings with nine hits, three earned runs, three walks, and ten Ks. All of the damage in the earned run category was done in the former start. He dominated yesterday — allowing just two baserunners. I’m not too convinced he can be trusted in the postseason in any capacity, but it’s very encouraging to see him make progress.
Ian Anderson has been the most pleasant surprise of 2020. He got touched up a tad Saturday in his first loss, but he’s made a strong case for NL Rookie of the Year. Even after one of his worst outings on Saturday, his 2.36 ERA and 11.8 K/9 over his 26.2 debut innings is awfully impressive. He’s already a lock for the postseason rotation
I went into detail on Cole Hamels’ lukewarm first start, but he will be tossing meaningful innings in the playoffs. I call it lukewarm because it was very evident he’s still getting loose. We’ll see him again Tuesday against the Marlins.
Thankfully, Huascar Ynoa is healthy and taking the mound tonight. His back injury wasn’t serious, and he looked dominant in his last start before leaving with an injury. He threw four innings while only giving up two hits, no walks, and struck out five, featuring some nasty movement on his slider. His fastball was sitting between 95-97, and he’s been locating it well. If Ynoa looks good and gets a clutch win against the 2nd place Marlins, he’s undoubtedly going to receive some consideration.
I already discussed the merits of bringing up Folty & Newk for different reasons. Even though Folty was the scapegoat for the disastrous 2019 NLDS Game 5 and looked unprepared for the start of 2020, fans forget he tossed seven scoreless innings in a pivotal Game 2 to make the series 1-1 after the Braves blew a lead in Game 1.
Sean Newcomb has been a man possessed in the playoffs — he’s only given up two runs in 8.1 innings of high leverage baseball. I’m not sure he could start, but I think he’s worth rostering. However, as it stands right now, I don’t see either guy making the playoff roster.
It’s crazy to see two arms that were supposed to be a big part of this rotation leading into the season go out like this. Newcomb was sent down after 13.2 innings, and Foltynewicz didn’t even get past 3.1. I understand the urgency in a 60 game season, but with the Robbie Erlin/Tommy Milone experiment going about as well as Chernobyl, I expected to see at least one of these guys by now. I’d still like to see them get one outing each against the lowly Red Sox, but if the Braves are in a tight race, their 2020 seasons are likely over
With Hamels injured and Ynoa struggling to start the game tonight, perhaps they both should get a look this week.