First off, I want to say that Folty has been exciting to watch this season. He’s certainly been one of, if not the most consistent starter in the rotation, and you can you can notice some improvement now that he is in his 3rd season in Atlanta. Another thing I want to briefly mention is that he is still out-pitching his peripherals (3.87 ERA vs. 4.51 FIP) but that’s not the main focus of this article.

The one major issue that seems to have been plaguing him can be picked up on by the eye-test alone. He is very solid through 4 to 5 innings, pitching like a legitimate top of the rotation starter. However, he falls apart shortly thereafter – Here’s a quick breakdown:

I’m not exactly sure how to go about fixing this issue. It could be a stamina thing, or maybe his "stuff" isn’t truly good enough to get hitters out after they have already seen him 1-2 times that night (100% speculation on my part).

The main things that jump out to me here are his BB/9 and Hard Contact % after the first time through, with the walk rate being the main issue in my opinion. If he doesn’t trust his stuff as much in the middle of the game, this could result in him trying to be too cute with his pitches, falling behind in counts and/or missing over the heart of the plate.

As I mentioned earlier, he is out-pitching his peripherals, but if he can figure out how to remain competitive in the 5th, 6th and 7th innings I believe he can become a legitimate middle of the rotation starter (#3 or #4). If not, he might be pushed to the bullpen where he could excel as a closer once Soroka, Allard, etc. make their way to Atlanta.

What do you guys think?