11:05 am first pitch on May 30th. For those who have spent some time around minor league baseball this time slot is commonly known as a field trip game. But for Red Sox pitching prospect Kyle Hart it happened to be the day of his Pawtucket Red Sox debut. The former Indiana Hoosier had started the season in Double-A Portland where he posted a 2.91 ERA in 55.2 innings of work across nine starts.
You never really know what to expect from a pitcher making his debut at any level but in this game against Lehigh Valley, quite a bit of learning was done on the 27-year-old lefty. Hart threw a nine-inning complete game shut-out throwing a season-high 108 pitches, 74 for strikes. He allowed five base hits and recorded eight strikeouts. Part of his success was pounding the strike-zone issuing zero walks.
This was a never looked back type of moment for Hart. He went on to started 15 games for the PawSox in 2019 and made a total of 18 appearances. In 100.1 innings of work, Hart posted a 3.86 ERA and struck out 80 batters while issuing just 36 walks. His 9-7 record was the rotations best despite three pitchers recording more starts than him in Pawtucket.
Over the course of 2019, I came away with a number of takeaways on Hart and why I think he is the Red Sox organization’s most ready starting prospect.
For starters he has an ability to grind out games, he’s a pitcher and not a thrower. At times when Hart didn’t have his best “stuff”, he was able to work around runners on the base paths rather successfully. For a pitcher who was relatively new to Triple-A, the baseball IQ he had on the mound gave him a leg-up on batters. Nothing is more apparent than his innings per start. On average Hart pitched 5.68 innings per start in 2019, highest amongst eligible PawSox starters. This is a key metric for Major League starting viability.
Hart: 5.69 IP/S
Teddy Stankiewicz: 5.48 IP/S
Josh A. Smith: 5.18 IP/S
Mike Shawaryn: 5.16 IP/S
Erasmo Ramirez: 5.05 IP/S
Ryan Weber: 4.87 IP/S
He is a starter, not a reliever. Hart in his 15 Starts last year posted a 3.57 ERA in 85.2 innings of work. In three outings where he came out of the bullpen after a Red Sox rehabber started, he posted a 5.52 ERA in 14.2 innings. Those three outings raised his total ERA +0.29.
Left-handed batters are a rough spot for Hart. Lefties hit .284 off him in 22.2 IP in 2019 versus righties .241 in 77.2 IP. Left-handed hitters accounted for 32.5% of Hart’s earned runs in 2019 despite accounting for just 22.1% of his inning load.
Hart is able to use a true four-pitch mix and has above average control for a Triple-A starter. Fastball is in the low 90’s which could work at the big league level but could also get him in trouble.
It’s hard not to like Hart. A 2016 19th round pick and he is literally knocking on the door of the big leagues. The question is if Boston will actually use him in the correct manner. Last year the Red Sox called up Mike Shawaryn who had a hot start starting for the PawSox and used him as a reliever. Anyone who had watched Shawaryn pitched would have known that isn’t a logical role for him. Hart is very much in that same boat. Of course, I question if his “stuff” will play at the big league level, but those questions are there for any pitcher who hasn’t made their Major League debut. I just look at the innings per start, his ability to grind out games and limit damage, and think there is something there that could play in the big leagues.
Hart is clearly on Boston’s radar given the fact that he was added to the 40-man roster for Rule 5 Draft protection. This spring he didn’t have the greatest success in an abbreviated Spring Training allowing seven earned runs in 9.2 innings of work across three outings. That being said, he showed some flashes as well. In a start on 2/28, Hart tossed two innings of hitless baseball issuing just one walk and striking out one batter.
As of now, Hart is expected to start the season with the PawSox but given the current situation regarding the 2020 season, anything is on the table.
The original article written by Tanner Rebelo can be found here:
https://www.trifectanetworksports.com/pawsox-re-watch-kyle-hart-spins-a-complete-game-in-triple-a-debut/