PITTSBURGH — What started this spring as a strategy for dealing with left-handed pitchers has turned into a near-complete evolution of Pirates starter Chad Kuhl.
Kuhl came up through the system as a classic right-handed mid-90s sinkerballer that also featured a slider. It’s a fairly common 1-2 punch for pitchers of that profile.
The weakness of that combination is left-handed hitters and most pitchers that use it also feature a changeup. Kuhl did, too. But his changeup is not as evolved as his other two primary pitches.
As Kuhl’s rookie season went along and teams started to get more knowledge about his game and how he attacked hitters, the Pirates saw some signs that he might need a new approach against left-handers.