Kevin Ginkel

Ginkel had his finest season to date in 2023, registering career-highs across multiple categories, including games played (60), innings pitched (65.1) and strikeouts (70). He was Arizona's best reliever, posting a 2.48 ERA (20th among qualified relievers) and 0.98 WHIP (12th) while racking up 9 wins, 8 holds and 4 saves as the D'Backs' setup man. The 29-year-old induced ground balls at a career-high 50.3% clip and kept the ball inside the park with only 3 home runs allowed (0.4 HR/9) all season. Ginkel's 9.1% walk percentage was a blemish that has remained constant throughout his career, thus some ratio regression should be expected, but his 5th-year breakout season puts him in line to pitch important innings again in 2024.

Ginkel pitched more innings in the minors (30.2 innings) than the majors (29.1) in 2022, but the D'Backs called him up in August and he spent the remainder of the season pitching for Arizona. The right-hander averaged a career-best 96.4 mph on his fastball, while his slider was effective in generating whiffs (44.3%) and producing strikeouts. His K-rate was in line with prior season outputs and he induced ground balls at a career-high rate at 48.8%. Ginkel is an NL-only and deeper mixed league spec for saves, as he tallied nine in the minors last year and recorded a save for Arizona on the final day of the season, but he'll need to limit his walks (3.4 BB/9) to be considered for more chances.

Ginkel's outlook appeared bright entering 2020 following a dominating run through the minors and an outstanding rookie campaign during which he racked up nine holds and registered a 1.48 ERA. He struggled at the outset of last season but appeared to find his groove between Aug. 15 and Aug. 30, allowing only one earned run over eight appearances. Consequently, the right-hander was given the first save chance after Archie Bradley was traded to Cincinnati, but be blew the opportunity and was shipped to the team's alternate training site less than two weeks later. Ginkel's struggles can largely be attributed to poor control, as evidenced by his ugly 16.5 BB% last season. His strikeout rate also dropped more than six points to 22.8% while opposing batters took him deep three times in 16 innings. He should return to the big-league bullpen next season, but the opportunity to close may have passed him by.

Ginkel was a 22nd-round draft pick in 2016 and ascended quickly through Arizona's system, riding a dominant 2018 minor-league campaign to his first stint in the big leagues last season. He didn't miss a beat at the highest level, registering a 1.48 ERA and 0.99 WHIP while notching nine holds and two saves in 25 outings. Ginkel's fastball sits in the 93-96 mph range and arrives at hitters in a hurry due to exceptional extension on his delivery that gives Ginkel the illusion of jumping toward the plate on each pitch. He also relies heavily on a nasty slider, going to the pitch 44.9% of the time in 2019 and holding hitters to a feeble .075 batting average. The right-hander demonstrated superb strikeout ability in the minors and carried that over to the major-league level last season, posting a 29.2 K%. He has the makings of a future closer and could conceivably compete for the role as early as this season.