Spring Training Quick Looks: Kim & Lindblom
Note: I’d like to grade out both of their pitches more but the camera angles where sh …. not good.
Kwang Hyun Kim
LHP on the Cardinals
Games watched
- Feb 22: 1 IP (in rain with ump covering the catcher’s glove)
- Mar 9: 3 IP
Projections and comps from earlier this offseason.
| Projection | IP | G | GS | W | K | SV | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZiPS | 157.3 | 27 | 36 | 11 | 131 | 0 | 3.89 | 1.26 |
| Davenport | 150.7 | 28 | 28 | 11 | 152 | 0 | 4.04 | 1.34 |
| Average | 160.0 | 29 | 33 | 11 | 147 | 0 | 3.97 | 1.30 |
| My Playing Time Adjustment | 100.0 | 18 | 21 | 7 | 92 | 0 | 3.97 | 1.30 |
The projected talent should play with comparable projected pitchers being Jesus Luzardo (3.98 ERA, 1.26 WHIP), Sonny Gray (3.91, 1.30), and Carlos Martinez (3.97, 1.33).
One game that was not on MLB.tv had StatCast velocity readings and here are his pitch velocities.
- Fastball: 90-93
- Slider (Change): 83-86
- Curve: 69-71
- Cutter: 88- 89
- Split: 77-78
Game Notes:
- Throws straight to home (no weird angles) with a major leg kick at the end.
- Worked fast.
- The anouncers kept calling his pitch in the low 80’s a change while all reports have him throwing a slider
- He threw all his pitches for strikes.
- Throws low-and-away a lot.
Pitches (All velocities are from the broadcast)
73-mph Curve
78-mph Split
82-mph Change/Slider
83-mph Change/Slider
87-mph Cutter
92-mph Fastball
Overall: Kim seems to be a left-handed Marcus Stroman who will throw more strikes. Both don’t have a dominant fastball but throw the kitchen sink to keep batters off guard. Everything Kim throws moves and leads to some weak contact if at all. It’s tough to know from watching the few innings which pitch is best but I’m sure one will stand out. Between Kim and Stroman, Kim is a better deal with an NFBC ADP at 409 while Stroman goes 200 picks earlier at 204. With his current cost, I’ll try to own Kim in every possible league.
Josh Lindblom
RHP on the Brewers
Games watched
- March 1st
- March 6th
Projections and comps from earlier this offseason.
| Projection | IP | G | GS | W | K | SV | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZiPS | 142.2 | 25 | 24 | 9 | 135 | 0 | 4.48 | 1.31 |
| Davenport | 160.7 | 29 | 29 | 12 | 168 | 0 | 4.03 | 1.30 |
| Average | 160.0 | 29 | 28 | 11 | 160 | 0 | 4.26 | 1.30 |
| My Playing Time Adjustment | 160.0 | 29 | 28 | 11 | 160 | 0 | 4.26 | 1.30 |
His projection is comparable to Luke Weaver (4.25 ERA, 1.28 WHIP), Cole Hamels (4.25, 1.33), and Joe Musgrove (4.25, 1.28).
Game Notes:
- He also throws the kitchen sink.
- Throws straight to home, no angles.
- Sometimes his fastball is too straight and he gets too much of the plate when behind in the count.
- Tough to discern his sinker and cutter … maybe one pitch.
- Lost of hits on the ground.
- Lived just out of the strike zone with his fastball hoping hitters would chase it. They didn’t. It’ll be interesting to see if he adjusts or keeps working each batter from behind. He rarely walked many batters but was forced to get too much of the plate when behind and batters squared him up.
Fastball
Cutter/Sinker
Change
Split
Curve
Overall: I rank Lindblom just a bit behind Kim at this point because Lindblom couldn’t consistently find the plate. Besides possibly giving up too much hard contact, he could be limited on how deep he goes into games. He could overtake Kim at some point if he throws more strikes. It’s tough to find a comp for him. Maybe Jeff Samardzija. Both throw a ton of junk without a dominating fastball and are close in NFBC ADP with Samardzija at 305 and Lindblom at 322. I didn’t see anything to want me to roster him right now.
Jeff, one of the authors of the fantasy baseball guide,The Process, writes for RotoGraphs, The Hardball Times, Rotowire, Baseball America, and BaseballHQ. He has been nominated for two SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis and won it in 2013 in tandem with Bill Petti. He has won four FSWA Awards including on for his Mining the News series. He's won Tout Wars three times, LABR twice, and got his first NFBC Main Event win in 2021. Follow him on Twitter @jeffwzimmerman.
I saw Kim’s 3/9 start. He got up to 95 mph on his fb v Nellie Cruz so he may have an extra gear on it.
ST Radars are hot
Pretty sure that last pitch from Kim is not a fastball.
Correct … fixed
This is terrific Jeff! I enjoy pitching breakdowns, especially with video/gifs. It is cool to seem them both using most (all?) of their pitches. Thanks! And keep ’em coming if possible.
LOL “Lindblow” — Freudian slip?
Are you trying to tell me that all of those Kim pitches were different ?
The poor StatCast intern who is labeling the pitching is going to need therapy after coding Kim.
the change/slider/split/cutter are similar just slightly different speeds?
Thanks for this breakdown. At RTSports, these guys qualify in the RP spot so they are getting attention in points leagues.
Btw, there is a typo in the last sentence although it’s clear what you meant to say.
that split from Lindblom looks nasty. The batter only split on it because he thought it was headed for his belt.. if Lindblom can put that over the plate I’d imagine he’ll get a lot of whiffs
It sounds like Kim is the leading candidate for the job, but how would you compare him with Daniel Ponce de Leon and Genesis Cabrera? If we assumed all pitched 100 innings this year, would you still take Kim first?