Kyle Hart, Padres LHP
Key stat: Added +2.2 mph to fastball and +9 inches of break to sweeper in relief
Mason Miller very much does not count here, and nor do Robert Suarez, or Adrian Morejon, each All-Stars in the last two seasons. (It’s an extremely good bullpen, even without the injured Jason Adam.) Jeremiah Estrada might, but his second half (4.68 ERA) has been more than a little bumpy. Instead, we’ll dig a little deeper for the lesser-known Hart, who briefly appeared for the 2020 Red Sox before spending the next four seasons in the Minors and Korea. Last year, he won the KBO’s equivalent to the Cy Young award, then signed with the Padres in February.
It didn’t go great, at first. Hart opened the season in the rotation, making six starts with a 6.66 ERA, then spent most of the summer bouncing back and forth between San Diego and Triple-A. Now strictly a reliever, Hart has been lights-out in recent weeks, posting a 13/1 K/BB in September to go with a 2.45 ERA. (And a far more hilarious 0.01 FIP.) Stop us if you’ve heard this before: He’s throwing a lot harder in short relief stints.
Putting numbers to that picture: His four-seamer went from 90.8 mph as a starter to 93 as a reliever, and while that’s hardly “elite,” it’s a lot more acceptable, especially for someone without elite four-seam movement. But, as important: Hart has added a ton of extra movement on his sweeper, which had 8 inches of horizontal break in May and now has 17 inches of break in September. He’s thrown it 41 times this month. He’s yet to allow a hit on it.
Full article can be found at: https://www.mlb.com/news/under-the-radar-relievers-who-could-take-over-october-in-2025