Braves righty Mike Foltynewicz has elected to hire new representation, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter). He’ll now be repped by Victor Menocal and Casey Close of Excel Sports Management.
Foltynewicz, 26, is entering the earning phase of his career. He qualifies for arbitration this fall as a Super Two player. That first-time arb salary is a critical number both to fill up the bank account and set a starting point for future raises.
MLBTR and Matt Swartz project Foltynewicz to earn $2.7MM through arbitration. Though he only managed a 4.79 ERA in 2017 to go with his 4.87 career mark, Folty has buttressed his arb case by throwing 382 2/3 total frames with 345 strikeouts. He also reached double-digit wins last season.
It’s conceivable that the Braves could approach Foltynewicz about a long-term deal at some point, though it’s questionable whether that’ll occur next spring. After all, the organization will want to see whether he can elevate his game before committing. And the Braves have still yet to resolve their ongoing front office uncertainty.
Excel’s lengthy client list includes Foltynewicz’s current teammates Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson. You can access MLBTR’s full agency database right here.
Sadly he’ll get more than he’s deserved so far. He has the talent, just needs to put it together for 162.
*32-33. He’s a starting pitcher.
Record should be the absolute last thing considered when looking at a pitchers stats….especially one on the Braves the past 2 years.
With that said….they’ll likely overpay him but at times he has shown flashes of being a #2 starter.
He was a great fantasy streamer last year for me…. I got a couple great situational starts from him