Chad Kuhl Facing Tough Competition to Start Career

In his first four starts Pirates starting pitcher Chad Kuhl has had to face some tough competition at the major league level. However, he has shown the ability to hold his own at the major league level against some of the toughest teams in the National League.

It was a quick rise to the majors for Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Chad Kuhl as he spent one year at each level of the Pirates minor league system. The 2013 9th round draft pick rose through the minor league system with an ERA consistently in the mid 2's and striking out 100 batters twice in his four years through the system.

Kuhl's hard work finally paid off as on June 26th 2016, Kuhl got the call to the majors to make his MLB debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then Kuhl found out he would be facing one of the top pitchers in the National League in Clayton Kershaw. Then, to add to the pressure, he was pitching on ESPN Sunday night baseball.

Talk about a high pressure situation, but as they say big players step up in very big games and that is just what Kuhl did. He ended up going six innings giving up three runs on four hits while walking four and striking out five. He got into trouble in the first inning as he loaded the bases with two outs but was able to get out of it and settle in.

He would end up picking up the win in that game as the Pirates scored him four runs and Kuhl picked up his first major league win. Manager Clint Hurdle was quoted after the game as saying "That was a great team win." Kuhl had no time to relax however as his opponents would only get tougher as his starts continued.

In his next two starts he had to face off against Oakland Athletics ace Rich Hill and he faced Jon Lester in what has seemed to be an all-star Chicago Cubs rotation. He did very well against the Athletics giving up only two runs in seven innings of work, but he hit his first bump in the road against the Cubs going 1.2 innings giving up four runs.

Then we come to last night's start, once again Kuhl was faced in a tough situation having to go up against Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer. Once again he was up to the challenge throwing 86 pitches in six shut out innings of work while striking out five and not walking a batter in the outing. Unfortunately, Kuhl did not pick up the win as the Pirates would need 18 innings to defeat the Nationals by a score of 2-1.

Kuhl was a pitcher not on many people's radar before the season started because of stars like Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow making their MLB debut, however, he has come on to the scene and performed well in his first four major league starts. He has made himself a main stay in the Pirates rotation and looks to help them make a playoff run.

Kuhl has collected 13 strikeouts in his first 19.1 innings of major league work compared to five walks. Kuhl has very good control on the mound not walking a man in two of his four MLB starts. Kuhl has been able to keep his cool in some high pressure situations and it will pay off later in his career.

With the trade deadline approaching, the Pirates have been scouting some top starting pitching including Chris Archer from the Tampa Bay Rays, Nathan Eovaldi from the New York Yankees, and Rich Hill from the Oakland Athletics. If Kuhl can continue his early success he will be a key part to the Pittsburgh Pirates 2016 playoff run.