|
|
|
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6’5”, 265 lbs
Acquired: 1S, ’07 (Oregon State)
Born: 4/8/86 (Portland, OR)
Why Ranked Here: Kunz has a plus MLB pitch, a nasty two seamer in the low-mid 90s that generates both lots of swings and misses and groundballs. His short, hard flat slider is an effective weapon against righties. Moreover, he’s done with Double-A and close to ready to contribute to the Major League team. Ranking Kunz here signals an inflection point of sorts in the rankings where MLB readiness starts to outweigh potential. Kunz struggled with lefties in AA and in tiny samples in the majors and the AFL. He claims that he’s always had a good feel for a changeup, but the Mets wanted him to work on his slider to lefties in 2008. There is little doubt he needs another weapon against LHH who see the ball very early from his low ¾ arm slot. Scouts are concerned that the violence in Kunz’s delivery might mean that he will never have the type of command teams want out of their closer.
2008: After April 1, Kunz allowed runs in just five of his final 35 appearances in AA. The Mets promoted Kunz straight from AA to the big leagues in early August, where the command problems that plagued Kunz early in the AA season, came back hurt him. He became almost entirely fastball dependent, especially later in big league counts, and MLB hitters made him pay for his predictability. Kunz’s AFL line looks lousy thanks to an eight-run outburst he allowed in .1 of an inning on October 17th. Even so, the 10 walks in 14 innings is troubling.
Dr. Pangloss Says: Kunz can become a real asset in the eighth inning for the Mets with that bigtime sinker.
On the Flipside: Kunz has problems with lefties and spotting his offerings, which might limit him to situational right-hander status.
Projected 2009 Start: AAA Buffalo where he will be engaged in a lengthy audition to win another shot at the big leagues.
| ERA | G/GS | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | BB/9 | SO/9 | SO/BB | GO/AO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA | 2.79 | 44/0 | 48.1 | 39 | 19 | 15 | 0 | 25 | 43 | 4.68 | 8.05 | 1.72 | 3.55 |
| AAA | 3.79 | 6/0 | 5.2 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3.46 | 6.92 | 2.00 | 1.60 |
| MLB | 13.5 | 4/0 | 2.2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.09 | 4.09 | 1.00 | 5.55 |
| AFL | 10.93 | 14/0 | 14 | 24 | 17 | 17 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 6.43 | 9.00 | 1.40 | 3.00 |
 |
 |
 |
RSS 2.0 You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
I don’t believe in drafting relievers in the first 2 Rounds of the MLB Draft, so you can imagine how I felt about the Kunz pick.
That said, I concur with Toby’s assessment. I’m not so much concerned about his delivery as I am his control and I understand that one affects the others, but there are alot of guys with violent deliveries that have good control.
I’m chalking Kunz’s MLB outings on nerves, but his lack of control in the AFL is troubling.
The lack of success against lefties could also be that he hasn’t faced many in life. I would just keep putting him out there against lefties. See which one of his pitches works.
If he has a feel for a change, then why not try that against lefties. It worked for Aaron Heilman in 2006.
That said, unless he keeps walks down and has success against lefites, he’s not a closer-type, but with K-Rod on board he doesn’t have to be. If he can turn into a solid 8th or 7th inning pitcher, it’s still a win.
Look at the gopher balls, too. That was kind of Kunz’s calling card for the last 5 years. He gave one up his freshman year at Oregon State, and then didn’t give up another until he got the the Majors (a gap of about 150 innings). Counting that one, though, he’s now given up 5 in his last 22 innings pitched. I don’t know if the problem’s in his arm, his head, or both, but it sure seems like something’s wrong.