Addition of young starters has still-developing Mike Foltynewicz also mentoring new Braves arms

ATLANTA -- Last season, when the Braves' rotation racked up an MLB-high 126 starts by players 25 or younger, Mike Foltynewicz didn't have many options when it came to seeking out a veteran to pick the brain of when things weren't going well.

Granted, there was two-time All-Star Julio Teheran, who has enjoyed major-league success, but he's just nine months older than Foltynewicz.

Brian Snitker recalls telling the right-hander: "Two or three years down the road, you're going to be that guy can put your arm around somebody and say I know what you're going through, I've been there,'" the Atlanta manager recalled before Friday's series opener vs. the Marlins.

It only took a year.

After opening the season with a pair of 40-somethings -- Bartolo Colon and R.A. Dickey -- and another veteran in Jaime Garcia, only Dickey remains and the Braves now feature two young arms in Sean Newcomb and Lucas Sims. Now, the 25-year-old Foltynewicz -- who is still very much in the midst of his own development -- is in the role of helping two pitchers who are just one (Newcomb) and two (Sims) years his junior.

"(It's) kind of (surreal)," Foltynewicz said. "I'm kind of in Julio's shoes, what he's been going through. He hasn't had that much time under his belt, but he's been here and he's done it and he's the only one you can got to and talk to."

Foltynewicz, just four years into his career with 57 starts and 77 appearances, is in a position where he can certainly relate to the highs of Sims in his debut and the struggles of Newcomb of late.

The right-handed Sims, the Braves' first-round pick in the 2012 draft (21st overall), allowed three runs on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks in six innings Tuesday against the Dodgers. It was just the third quality start thrown by an Atlanta first-rounder in his debut, following Derek Lilliquist (1989) and Mike Minor (2010).

Meanwhile, Newcomb, who sported a 1.48 ERA through his first four starts, has an ERA sitting at 7.31 since. That six-start stretch has included the Dodgers (twice), the Astros, Nationals, Cubs and Phillies. Outside of Philadelphia, that's a gauntlet of lineups ranked first in collective WAR (Houston at 24.3), second (L.A. with 22.8), third (Nationals with 21.3) and seventh (Cubs, 15.9).

They combined to get to the lefty for a combined six home runs and 22 runs, all earned. He's also racked up 23 walks in that stretch, including seven in Thursday's 7-4 loss to the Dodgers, in which Newcomb lasted 4 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on four hits.

That stretch the hard-throwing Newcomb has experienced is a frustration Foltynewicz knows all too well.

"You're trying to so hard out there and in certain points you try too much and you try to strike out all these guys because you've done it before," Foltynewicz. "You've done it in the minor leagues, you're striking everybody out, then you get up here and it's a little bit different game. You've got to start being a pitcher instead of a thrower.

A year ago, Foltynewicz couldn't string together consecutive starts in which he allowed two runs or less. While he's been the Braves' most consistent starter this year with a 4.08 ERA in 21 games, Foltynewicz just followed a seven-start run with a 2.95 ERA by giving up five earned runs on seven hits over four innings against Philadelphia and its 25th-ranked lineup (7.8 WAR).

As for that journey to being a pitcher instead of a thrower?

"It didn't take me one, two games to figure that out. ... I'm still trying to figure that out sometimes," he said, laughing. "It takes times, and when you start missing your pitches by a wide margin instead of that little margin you want to be into, and things aren't going your way, but you've got to stay within yourself, take a breath sometime and utilize those guys out there in field (for) what they're for.

Once that gets through all of our heads I think we'll pitch a little better. But sometimes we get a little excited and want to strike everybody out in the world."

It's as much a continuing education for Foltynewicz as it is the newcomers, but while they still have 42-year-old R.A. Dickey as a resource, Foltynewicz admits he's enjoying being a resource.

"I like when they come to me and I try to get my five cents and we'll go on from there," he said. "We're in it together, we're all still earning together."

Follow Cory McCartney on Twitter @coryjmccartney and Facebook. His books, 'Tales from the Atlanta Braves Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Braves Stories Ever Told,' and 'The Heisman Trophy: The Story of an American Icon and Its Winners.' are now available.