2018 Pinstripe Preview: Tommy Kahnle

By -

As the hidden gem of the trade deadline move with the White Sox, Tommy Kahnle is quietly becoming one of the best relievers in baseball. Throwing a fastball that tops out at 98 and filthy secondary pitches in his changeup and slider, Kahnle is as good as any when he’s on.


Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images


2017 Review:
Quietly developing into one of the best relievers in the game, Kahnle spent the second half of the season on the third team of his career, as he’s previously been with the Rockies and White Sox. His motor was obvious from the start and that fire on the mound was much needed out of the bullpen. His numbers, mainly strikeouts, slightly went down in virtually every category after moving from Chicago to New York, but Kahnle was still very effective when called upon.


ERA
IP
H
ER
HR
BB
SO
ERA+
FIP
2016
2.63
27.1
21
8
2
20
25
155
4.46
2017 (CWS)
2.50
36.0
28
10
3
7
60
173
1.49
2017 (NYY)
2.70
26.2
25
8
1
10
36
169
2.30
TOTAL
2.60
90.0
74
26
6
37
121
167
2.56

2018 Preview:
With the closer and set up roles already locked up barring injury in Aroldis Chapman and David Robertson, Kahnle will be competing for that seventh inning role out of the bullpen. Betances is an unlikely source considering the way his 2017 second half went and Adam Warren is more of a long reliever for the Yanks. Kahnle’s only realistic competitor for now is Chad Green, who broke out for a phenomenal 2017 season that saw him become one of the game’s best. Green is expected to come into spring training as a starter, but this seems pointless considering the Yankees already have five set starters, the same five from last season. Unless the Yankees are planning on running out a six-man rotation to limit the workload of youngsters Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery as well as injury-prone Masahiro Tanaka and aging CC Sabathia, Green should certainly stay in the bullpen. In this case, the best guess would be to keep Green in that seventh inning role. If that were the case, Kahnle is a ridiculously good fourth option.

Kahnle is a tremendous option to have out of the bullpen that is locked up for another two years. Likely not have even reached his ceiling yet, his potential is very high. His contributions should help make this bullpen the best and deepest in the league.

Article by: Spencer Schultz

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing Bronx Bomber Bets: BBBets 9/23

By -
Image
Welcome to our new gambling column at BBB, Bronx Bomber Bets. Here we will be giving out some of our favorite picks of the day and sharing them with our readers. Today, we are giving out 10 picks for all of you, so please enjoy, and bet responsibly. Now, we know that not all of our readers are big gamblers, if they are gamblers at all, so for the first week or so that we give out picks we will be explaining the odds and gambling terminology for anyone out there who is looking to learn about sports betting. Here are our picks:
Read more

Trade Market the Perfect Storm for Yankees to Acquire Starter

By -
Image
 UPDATE D 11/18/15 We’ve all heard it: The Yankees aren’t likely to be big spenders this offseason. Hearing this makes me chuckle as the Yankees have the dollars to field a $500 million pay roll if they wanted to, but their dedication to winning just hasn’t been there since the passing of good ole’ George. Sure little rumors have serviced here or there about them maybe pursuing Zach Greinke who has recently opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that move reeks of the move CC Sabathia pulled in opting out of his contract with the Yankees a few years back to simply restructure his contract and make a better payday.   However, instances like CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka are why I believe the Yankees aren’t going to shell out big money and a long term contract for a big name starter this year. There are simply too many factors that could explode in the Pinstripes’ face when giving a long contract to a starter as evidenced by Sabathia’s fall from g...
Read more

Pride, Passion and Pinstripes: The greatest Yankees to ever touch the field

By -
Image
No team in baseball history has a story quite like the Yankees. 27 times they’ve found baseball Nirvana which is 16 more than the next closest team (Cardinals). 40 times have the Yankees won the American League, and that is also a major league record. The franchise won four straight championships from 1936-1939 and five straight from 1949-1953, a task no other team has ever accomplished. With all this sustained success, the team has seen some of the greatest players in league history proudly call the Bronx home. Together the Yankees could field multiple All-Star teams with their collective legends, but in this article, I’m going to try and put together a team of legends that I think would be absolutely unbeatable.   Photo Credit: Creative Commons
Read more