Kuhl trying to land 4th spot in rotation
That was it. It was 4-3,” he said. “If that run scores, it’s a tie game, and who knows what happens. … It’s one of those plays I’ll never forget.”
In total, Kuhl made 14 starts for the Pirates and had a 4.20 ERA and a 1.316 WHIP. He intends to join righthanders Cole, Ivan Nova and Jameson Taillon in forming the rotation’s top four in 2017. He trained at University of Delaware this offseason and focused on arm care and honing his changeup, a pitch he used 5.6 percent of the time in the majors in 2016, according to Fangraphs.
Kuhl has room for improvement, manager Clint Hurdle said, but the foundation is there.
“Chad Kuhl did some really serious work, really blue-collar work for us,” Hurdle said. “He’s going to have every opportunity to maintain and hold down a rotation spot. I like the experience in there.”
The Pirates drafted Kuhl, then a junior at Delaware, in the ninth round in 2013. He had a 3.46 ERA in 28 starts for Class A Bradenton in 2014, a 2.48 ERA in 26 starts for Class AA Altoona in 2015, and a 2.37 ERA in 16 starts for Indianapolis in 2016. Despite the sustained success throughout the minors, he was surprised to reach the majors in late June. How come?
“When I got called up, it was during a rough patch in my season,” Kuhl said. “It really was the furthest thing from my mind. I was kind of struggling mechanically, the ball was flattening out. I was giving up runs, giving up hits. It wasn’t really a thought in my mind.”
In his first 10 starts for Indianapolis, Kuhl posted a 1.24 ERA with a .195 opponent batting average. In his next four, he allowed 34 hits and 14 runs. That’s when the phone rang.
“Great opportunity for us to tell them to be pitchers, not general manager trying to figure out when they’re going to come up,” Hurdle said. “Just pitch. That was a great lesson for him.”
Hurdle and Kuhl each admitted he probably didn’t have his best stuff in the majors. There were nerves at times, and things should slow down with a second season — a first full one — in the majors. Kuhl, a sinkerball pitcher, had trouble keeping the ball on the ground. He had a 44.3 percent ground-ball rate. In his first two starts, Kuhl allowed 20 fly balls, Hurdle said, but he pitched through it.
“There was no more fun game for me than watching him pitch close to home in Philadelphia [Sept. 15] when he had half the town of Bear sitting over our dugout,” Hurdle said, remembering a six-inning, two-run start. “That in and of itself can get a kid in a different place. He was able to channel that emotion and energy in a very positive fashion and pitched one of his best games.”