4 pitching options available for St. Louis Cardinals as lockout begins

Chad Kuhl

Chad Kuhl became a free agent this week after the Pittsburgh Pirates non-tendered the righty.

Kuhl was 5-7 in 28 games, 14 of which were started for the Pirates. He did have four holds in relief for the club. While he had 75 strikeouts, he gave up 42 walks, 50 runs, and 73 hits on the season. He had a 27.6% swinging strike percentage, left 69.9% of runners on base, and induced 44.1% grounders.

Kuhl relies on his slider and mixes things up with a four-seam fastball,  a sinker, a curveball, and a changeup. Kuhl’s slider averages 88.2 mph with a 31% active spin. Just a filthy pitch! His sinker averages 94.1 mph with a 97% active spin. Kuhl’s four-seamer averages 94.3 mph with a 99% active spin. The curve averages 80.5 mph with a 74% active spin. And, his change-up averages 88.3 mph with a 95% active spin.

The Pirates slid Kuhl away from the starter’s role opting for a middle innings long relief kind of role. At 29, it would be interesting to see how Kuhl, with his mix of pitches, would perform with a Gold Glove defense behind him. He would definitely benefit from working with Yadier Molina and pitching coach Mike Maddux.

In 2021, the Cardinals saw how important pitching is for their club. Kuhl would definitely be an interesting option for the Cardinals for either a middle innings relief or a spot starter to open games.