Kyle Hart was a 19th-round draft pick (568th overall in 2016) out of Indiana who signed for $5,000. Now he’s a major leaguer.
The 27-year-old left-handed pitcher will make his big league debut for the Boston Red Sox against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday at Fenway Park. He will start opposite Rays righty Tyler Glasnow. First pitch is at 4:30 p.m.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pounder spent five years at Indiana because he underwent Tommy John surgery as a junior.
He recorded a 3.52 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and .233 batting average against in 27 outings (24 starts) for Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket during 2019.
He doesn’t throw hard but he has two different shapes to his cutter and slider.
He retired 34 of 38 batters he faced in two recent simulated game starts at Boston’s alternate training site, Pawtucket. He went 11 ⅓ scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out 11 in those two starts.
“He’s continued on with a lot of stuff he’s been working on the last couple of years,” Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush said Tuesday. “I’ve been around him quite a bit now the last three or four years. And for him, a lot of the adjustments are small. They are incremental changes in pitch mix and pitch shape. Trying to understand exactly where his stuff plays in the zone and how to mix his pitches together and how to sequence things.”
He has a 3.13 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 77 outings (71 starts) in the minor leagues. He has averaged 7.8 strikeouts and 3.1 walks per nine innings.
“His command is going to be critical,” Bush said. “It always is for him because the stuff is not going to light up a radar gun. But he’s got multiple pitches. He commands both sides of the plate.”
Read full article here: https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2020/08/kyle-hart-to-make-mlb-debut-for-boston-red-sox-on-thursday-lefty-has-gone-from-a-568th-overall-draft-pick-to-big-leagues.html