The Pirates will promote right-hander Nick Kingham to make his Major League debut and start Sunday’s game, reports Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter).
Now 26 years old, Kingham was widely regarded as one of the game’s top 100 overall prospects back in 2014-15 and looked to be on the precipice of the Major Leagues when a torn ulnar collateral ligament torpedoed his 2015-16 seasons. Kingham underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015, tossing just 31 1/3 innings that season and just 46 frames late in the 2016 season upon completing his rehab.
The 2017 season marked his first healthy season since 2014, and while he didn’t dominate, the 2010 fourth-rounder did turn in a solid 3.95 ERA with 7.1 K/9 against 2.2 BB/9 with a 45 percent ground-ball rate. He’s off to a torrid start to the 2018 season — as MLBTR’s Jason Martinez noted when including Kingham in the first 2018 edition of Knocking Down The Door — having logged a microscopic 1.59 ERA with a 27-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 49.1 percent grounder rate in 22 2/3 innings. He’s yet to allow a home run this year and allowed only eight in 2017.
[Related: Pittsburgh Pirates depth chart]
It could very well prove to be a spot start for Kingham — MLB.com’s Adam Berry suggested as much, on Twitter — though it would seem as though there’s at least one possible starting job that Kingham could eventually seize. The rotation jobs of Ivan Nova, Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams and Chad Kuhl all seem safe, even with Taillon’s struggles in his past two outings, though southpaw Steven Brault’s spot is less solidified. In four starts this year, Brault has posted a 5.06 ERA with a 12-to-11 K/BB ratio in 21 1/3 innings. He did open the year with three innings of scoreless relief work, but his overall body of work has not been especially impressive to date.
Regardless of whether Kingham arrives for a day or for the rest of the season, he’ll fall shy of a full year of Major League service time, so the Pirates will be able to control him through at least 2024. It’s worth noting that the 2018 season represents Kingham’s final option year, despite the fact that he’s never pitched in the Majors. The Buccos had to add him to the 40-man roster two offseasons ago in order to protect from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft (which he quite likely would have been). That’ll make it all the more important for Kingham to establish himself, to an extent, in the Majors this season. He’ll be out of options next spring and have to make the Opening Day roster, be exposed to waivers or traded to a team willing to carry him.
Brault is an above average long man and a below average starter…it would be great if Kingham could beat him out.
Especially if Musgrove struggles as a starter if/when he finally returns, putting both Brault and Musgrove (who was great in the Astros pen) in the bullpen would really shore up the team’s weak spot.
The GM desperately needs a successful player from their farm system to pan out or it’s another nail in his proverbial coffin.
He’s not going any where
GMNH was just extended 4 years. There is no coffin. At least not yet.
Taillon, Bell, Diaz, Mercer, Frazier, Polanco, Glasnow and Osuna are all on the active roster now that were acquired by Huntington and brought through their farm system. Cole came drafted after Huntington arrived on the scene as well…..
Taillon is average and definitely not an ace ,Bell is not a great defensive 1st basemen who would probably do better as a DH in the AL , maybe if Mercer stopped trying to do the Jeter spin move all the time he might end up being an average SS, Diaz has power but is lacking in defensive ability, Frazier is average, but that could change if he played more often, Polanco is not a great outfielder, Glasnow is good for 2 innings and then falls apart and Osuna is probably the best out of the bunch. If average is fine then Huntington is doing a fantastic job.
Taillon above average Mercer is an average ss Frazier above average HITTER right about Polanco and Bell
Wow. As Mike Lange says, not sure whether to cry or wind my watch. These last two comments are terrible….a la Maddon esque.
Is anything good enough for you people? Seriously?
So how much you get paid for your scouting reports by the Pirates? Just asking !
People are still looking at what Bell was coming up in 2016 and he was still working on 1B. Yes, he is still not a top fielding 1st baseman but he is not Pedro Alverez either. He is a middling fielder but he is still working to improve.. You are right. Some people are never happy and the blindly listen to the local media in Pittsburgh and bash every player that they have.
These two “experts” are probably the same fools who bashed drafting Roethlisberger and continue to do so.
So who goes down to Triple-A now that Kingham is on the 25-man?
Who has an option? Who ever they can send down and not lose. Who goes down to clear the 26th Man? i guess it is between Osuna or Moroff
It’s probably just someone with an option. It’ll probably just be a paper move as I doubt Kingham spends much time on the roster.
Unless he comes in and throws 7-8 innings of great ball and allows them to move Brault into the pen where he prob would be much more effective for the team. Not counting on it but they could leave him up for at least a second start if he does pitch very well.