Author Topic: Rotation 2023 - Dead Cat Bounce Brigade  (Read 4412 times)

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Offline imref

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Re: Rotation 2023 - Dead Cat Bounce Brigade
« Topic Start: March 16, 2023, 04:18:13 PM »
Zuck on some reason for hope for Kuhl:

Quote
Kuhl, a 30-year-old right-hander in camp on a minor league deal, has made one Grapefruit League start this spring, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings March 5 against the Tigers. He’s also made three relief appearances, including a three-inning stint Monday against the Astros.

A veteran of six big league seasons, the first five of which came with the Pirates, Kuhl owns a career 31-41 record, 4.74 ERA and 1.451 WHIP. He missed the entire 2019 season recovering from Tommy John surgery but returned healthy in 2020. The Delaware native joined the Rockies last year and made 27 starts, going 6-11 with a 5.72 ERA that was more than a run higher than his career mark to that point.

The final numbers don’t tell the full story of Kuhl’s 2022 season. Through his first 10 starts, he was 4-2 with a 3.17 ERA. Then over his final 17 starts – with a brief stint on the injured list due to a strained hip flexor – he was 2-9 with a 7.37 ERA, inflating his season totals.

The Nationals looked at Kuhl’s peripheral stats, taking into account the effect of pitching at altitude at Coors Field, and saw reason to believe he was due for some improvement. Relying more on a four-seam fastball and slider in Pittsburgh, he decreased his usage of both pitches in Colorado and instead threw more sinkers. Opponents wound up crushing that pitch to the tune of a .367 batting average and .599 slugging percentage.

“His breaking ball’s better now, because he’s not in Colorado,” Martinez said. “That’s going to help him out. He’s really working on a changeup; he threw a couple really good ones. And he’s got a mix where he can throw a two-seamer and a four-seamer, which we talked about when we got him here. He’s used both, and it’s so far been pretty effective.”