Mike Foltynewicz

Michael Gary Foltynewicz (/foʊltɪˈnɛvɪtʃ/; born October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Folty", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, and Texas Rangers.

The Houston Astros selected Foltynewicz in the first round of the 2010 MLB draft. He played in the minor leagues until he was called up to the Astros in August 2014. The Astros traded Foltynewicz to the Braves before the 2015 season. He appeared in the All-Star Game in 2018. He was designated for assignment by the Braves in 2020.

Foltynewicz grew up in Illinois and wanted to be a major league player from an early age. He grew up a St. Louis Cardinals fan. He says that his parents, Gary and Cindy Foltynewicz, both developed elbow problems one summer due to throwing him so many pitches during batting practice. He graduated in 2010 from Minooka High School in Minooka, Illinois.

The Houston Astros selected Foltynewicz in the first round, with the 19th overall selection, of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft. He planned to attend the University of Texas at Austin, but decided to enter professional baseball when he was chosen in the draft. Foltynewicz and the Astros agreed to a $1.2 million signing bonus. In 2010 with the Greeneville Astros he was 0–3 with a 4.03 ERA. In 2011 at Single-A Lexington, Foltynewicz was 5–11 with a 4.97 ERA with 88 strikeouts over 134 innings of work.

In 2012, Foltynewicz was the Astros Minor League Pitcher of the Year after going 14–4 with a 3.14 earned run average (ERA) and 125 strikeouts in 152 innings pitched. The next season, Foltynewicz pitched seven games (five starts) for the Class A Advanced Lancaster JetHawks and earned a 1–0 record with a 3.81 ERA. He finished the season with the Class AA Corpus Christi Hooks, starting 16 of 23 games on the way to a 5–3 record, a 2.87 ERA and three saves.

Foltynewicz was called up to the Astros on August 1, 2014. His first appearance was against the Toronto Blue Jays on August 2. At the time of his promotion, Foltynewicz had a 7–7 record with a 5.08 ERA at Class AAA Oklahoma City, where he registered 100 strikeouts in 102+2⁄3 innings. He was listed by both ESPN and Baseball America as the fourth-best prospect in the Houston system. Though he was a starting pitcher in Oklahoma City, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said that the team would use Foltynewicz out of the bullpen for the rest of the 2014 season. In 2014 for the Astros he was 0–1 with an ERA of 5.30 in 16 relief appearances.

The Astros traded Foltynewicz, Andrew Thurman, and Rio Ruiz to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Evan Gattis and James Hoyt on January 14, 2015. He was invited to spring training and sent down to the Triple–A Gwinnett Braves on April 4. Through his first four starts with Gwinnett, Foltynewicz posted a 2.08 ERA over 21.2 innings with 30 strikeouts and 10 walks. On April 30, third baseman Chris Johnson was moved to the 15-day disabled list, allowing room for the Braves to call up Foltynewicz to replace struggling Trevor Cahill in the starting rotation. Foltynewicz made his Braves debut on May 1 against the Cincinnati Reds, earning his first career win over five innings pitched, allowing two earned runs. On the same night, Folynewicz also recorded his first career hit, a double that scored two runs. Foltynewicz was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on June 17 after seeing his ERA rise to 5.19 in his previous three starts. He was recalled on July 7, after utility player Joey Terdoslavich was optioned to Gwinnett. He served as an extra reliever in Atlanta's bullpen during the final games before the All Star break. On July 12, after the final game of the first half, he was optioned back to Gwinnett. Foltynewicz was recalled on July 30 to make a spot start for Manny Banuelos. He began to fall ill on August 18, and was first diagnosed with costochondritis in September, which soon developed into pneumonia. On September 19, Foltynewicz suffered a further setback, and was diagnosed with blood clots in his pitching arm. Two days later, Foltynewicz underwent a rib resection to remove the anterior half of his first rib to deal with the clots. As a result of the surgery, he lost approximately 20 pounds (9.1 kg). In 2015 for Atlanta he was 4–6 with an ERA of 5.71.

Foltynewicz contended for a rotation spot in spring training in 2016. The Braves eventually assigned him to Gwinnett at the end of March to give him more time to recover from surgery. Foltynewicz was recalled on May 1 to replace Bud Norris in the rotation. Foltynewicz made his season debut the next day, taking a loss against the New York Mets. He returned to the disabled list on June 4 with a bone spur in his elbow. Foltynewicz was reactivated on June 29, as the Braves' rotation was beset by injuries to other pitchers.