Michael King has a chance of becoming a Major League starter
Jun 30, 2018 23:55:03 GMT -5
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Post by gowin on Jun 30, 2018 23:55:03 GMT -5
Michael King had another dominating performance today pitching a full scoreless game while striking out 11. He issued no walks and allowed just 3 hits one of which was a pop up to third. He generated 9 ground outs and 4 pop outs. Just a dominating performance against the team that ranks highest in OPS in the Eastern League and has top prospect Bo Bichette (2 Ks) amongst others in a solid line-up.
The right hander, who the Yankees acquired from the Marlins (with International Bonus Pool money) in exchange for Caleb Smith and Garret Cooper has now pitched 87.1 innings this season between the FSL and the Eastern League. He has delivered a sub-2.00 ERA in both Leagues. His numbers for the year are impressive: 1.85 ERA with 9.0 Ks per 9 innings pitched and 2.0 walks per 9. His batting average against so far this year has been just .213 and he has allowed just 3 HRs in the all year.
King is only one of five starters with a sub-2.00 ERA in the Eastern League (at least 30 innings pitched). That’s a list that includes the Yankees Erik Swanson (now in the AAA DL) and also Shane Bieber, the Indians pitcher that is performing at a very high level in the majors. He is also one of five pitchers with less than one WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) per inning in the league. His level of domination of the Eastern League in his first taste of AA is impressive.
King has a starter’s repertoire with the potential of 3 above average pitches:
His bread and butter pitch in an above average sinker that he throws in the 92mph to 94mph range and tops out at 96mph. King has outstanding control of the pitch to all angles of the strike zone. The pitch has excellent movement which translates into high ground ball rates (King GB% so far this year is at around ~50%).
The best secondary pitch is an above average change-up with excellent velocity separation from the sinker. The pitch also has above average movement including excellent fade and depth. The change-up is one of the reasons why the just turned 23 years old has been effective against lefties (.227 batting average; 1.08 WHIP).
His slider is his third pitch. A very weak offering just a year ago, the pitch now flashes plus and is one of the reasons why King has been delivering excellent strike out rates. The rapid development of the slider allows for a projection of a third above average offering.
King’s pitching style is all about being efficient, not allowing walks and generating a ton of ground outs. He is always in attack mode and lets his defense do the work for him (rather than trying to strike out everybody). This makes him very efficient. For example today King needed just 103 pitches to complete the 9 innings.
The righty profiles at the very least as a bottom of the rotation innings eater. His low walk rates and high ground ball rates give him a solid floor. However few pitchers in the whole minors can match his combination of solid strike out rates, ability to limit walks, capacity to keep the ball in the park and high ground ball rate tendencies. These traits might very well be the foundation of a very solid middle of the rotation starter.
The right hander, who the Yankees acquired from the Marlins (with International Bonus Pool money) in exchange for Caleb Smith and Garret Cooper has now pitched 87.1 innings this season between the FSL and the Eastern League. He has delivered a sub-2.00 ERA in both Leagues. His numbers for the year are impressive: 1.85 ERA with 9.0 Ks per 9 innings pitched and 2.0 walks per 9. His batting average against so far this year has been just .213 and he has allowed just 3 HRs in the all year.
King is only one of five starters with a sub-2.00 ERA in the Eastern League (at least 30 innings pitched). That’s a list that includes the Yankees Erik Swanson (now in the AAA DL) and also Shane Bieber, the Indians pitcher that is performing at a very high level in the majors. He is also one of five pitchers with less than one WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) per inning in the league. His level of domination of the Eastern League in his first taste of AA is impressive.
King has a starter’s repertoire with the potential of 3 above average pitches:
His bread and butter pitch in an above average sinker that he throws in the 92mph to 94mph range and tops out at 96mph. King has outstanding control of the pitch to all angles of the strike zone. The pitch has excellent movement which translates into high ground ball rates (King GB% so far this year is at around ~50%).
The best secondary pitch is an above average change-up with excellent velocity separation from the sinker. The pitch also has above average movement including excellent fade and depth. The change-up is one of the reasons why the just turned 23 years old has been effective against lefties (.227 batting average; 1.08 WHIP).
His slider is his third pitch. A very weak offering just a year ago, the pitch now flashes plus and is one of the reasons why King has been delivering excellent strike out rates. The rapid development of the slider allows for a projection of a third above average offering.
King’s pitching style is all about being efficient, not allowing walks and generating a ton of ground outs. He is always in attack mode and lets his defense do the work for him (rather than trying to strike out everybody). This makes him very efficient. For example today King needed just 103 pitches to complete the 9 innings.
The righty profiles at the very least as a bottom of the rotation innings eater. His low walk rates and high ground ball rates give him a solid floor. However few pitchers in the whole minors can match his combination of solid strike out rates, ability to limit walks, capacity to keep the ball in the park and high ground ball rate tendencies. These traits might very well be the foundation of a very solid middle of the rotation starter.
