LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Former Bellevue University All-American Kyle Kinman (Omaha, Neb.) made his Major League Baseball spring training debut yesterday for the Atlanta Braves in a Grapefruit League game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Coming in from the bullpen in the seventh inning, Kinman tossed 1.2 perfect frames including a pair of strikeouts. According to Eric Cole at "Talking Chop" - a website run by knowledgeable Braves fans - "Kyle Kinman was excellent in 1.2 innings of relief with no baserunners and a pair of strikeouts, providing a silver-lining to the pitching staff's mostly lackluster performance."
Kinman came in to pitch in the top of the seventh with Atlanta trailing 7-4. He retired all five batters he faced which allowed the Braves offense an opportunity to put up four runs in the eighth and record a tie with the three-time defending National League Central Division Champion Cardinals.
In 63 career MiLB appearances, Kinman sports a 4-0 record with 22 saves and a 2.21 ERA. He has struck out 108 batters in 81.1 innings of work during that time and limited opponents to a .227 batting average.
Kinman – a 5'11" southpaw – has been a match-up nightmare for left-handed hitters across four levels of Minor League Baseball in the past two seasons. He has limited lefties to a .175 average (18-for-103) in his professional career and profiles as a lefty specialist at the next level.
After reaching AA Mississippi last season, Kinman seems primed to start there again this season. However, there remains an outside chance Kinman could break camp with AAA Gwinnett after the Braves cut a couple of veteran pitchers this past weekend.
