Kevin Ginkel

Ginkel's outlook appeared bright entering 2020 following a dominating run through the minors and an outstanding rookie campaign during which he racked up nine holds and registered a 1.48 ERA. He struggled at the outset of last season but appeared to find his groove between Aug. 15 and Aug. 30, allowing only one earned run over eight appearances. Consequently, the right-hander was given the first save chance after Archie Bradley was traded to Cincinnati, but be blew the opportunity and was shipped to the team's alternate training site less than two weeks later. Ginkel's struggles can largely be attributed to poor control, as evidenced by his ugly 16.5 BB% last season. His strikeout rate also dropped more than six points to 22.8% while opposing batters took him deep three times in 16 innings. He should return to the big-league bullpen next season, but the opportunity to close may have passed him by.

Ginkel was a 22nd-round draft pick in 2016 and ascended quickly through Arizona's system, riding a dominant 2018 minor-league campaign to his first stint in the big leagues last season. He didn't miss a beat at the highest level, registering a 1.48 ERA and 0.99 WHIP while notching nine holds and two saves in 25 outings. Ginkel's fastball sits in the 93-96 mph range and arrives at hitters in a hurry due to exceptional extension on his delivery that gives Ginkel the illusion of jumping toward the plate on each pitch. He also relies heavily on a nasty slider, going to the pitch 44.9% of the time in 2019 and holding hitters to a feeble .075 batting average. The right-hander demonstrated superb strikeout ability in the minors and carried that over to the major-league level last season, posting a 29.2 K%. He has the makings of a future closer and could conceivably compete for the role as early as this season.