A look at new San Diego Padres LHP Kyle Hart.
In March 2022, Padres general manager A.J. Preller signed journeyman pitcher Nick Martinez.
Given that his previous MLB experience was mediocre and he had spent the last four seasons in Japan, this was considered to be a questionable move. But in the last three years (two of them with the Padres), Martinez has proven his critics wrong by going 20-15 with a 3.31 ERA, 3.79 FIP, and a solid 126 ERA+.
Can Preller duplicate that success with his latest signing, Kyle Hart?
On Tuesday, February 13, the Padres signed the left-hander to a one-year deal for $1 million with a $5 million option for 2026.
But who is he, and what does he bring to the table for the Padres?
Hart, 32, was drafted in the 19th round as a pitcher and center fielder by the Boston Red Sox in 2016. He put up decent numbers in the minors, going 43-47 with a 3.05 ERA and 617 strikeouts in 695.1 innings. He made four appearances (three starts) with the Red Sox in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, going 0-1 with a 15.55 ERA, yielding 19 runs in 11 innings.
After that, he struggled for three years in the minors with Boston, Seattle, and Philadelphia before signing with the NC Dinos in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO).
Hart found new life there, going 13-3 with a 2.69 ERA and 1.03 WHIP, striking out 182 (and yielding just 38 walks) in 157 innings of work. His tremendous season garnered him the Dong-won Choi Award, which is the equivalent of the MLB Cy Young Award.
Suddenly, Major League Baseball was interested in Kyle Hart.
As Robert Murray reported in FanSided, 18 teams expressed interest in his services.
According to Fangraphs, his slider is his strongest pitch, while his changeup “generated plus chase and miss rates in 2024.” But because his fastball tops out in the low 90s, he most likely profiles as a 5th or 6th starter or a swingman. So if he’s going to make it work in Major League Baseball, he’s going to need pitching coach Ruben Niebla to work with him.
Is Kyle Hart Nick Martinez 2.0?
Time will tell, but for the moment, this looks like a low-risk, medium-reward move by Preller that (at worst) will cost the Padres $1 million and (at best) will give them needed depth as they attempt to make the playoffs for the fourth time in six seasons.
Full article can be found at: https://eastvillagetimes.com/examining-new-padres-lhp-kyle-hart/