Larson Kindreich was everything the Hickory Crawdads could have asked for in his home on Saturday night against the Greensboro Grasshoppers.
Kindreich gave up just two hits across five shutout innings in his second start with the Texas Rangers’ High Class-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League.
He also struck out five and walked three as the Crawdads won 8-0 in a seven-inning game. Kindreich got his first win with Hickory.
The Rangers called up the left-hander up from Low Class-A Down East on June 23. This came after Kindreich was named one of the Rangers’ top prospects for the month of May.
He joined the Crawdads on the road and made his first start on June 25 against the Rome Braves. He threw four innings, giving up two hits, two runs and three walks while striking out five. He ended up with a no-decision.
So far this minor league season, he’s 4-2 with a 2.11 ERA in 11 appearances (seven starts) with 65 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched. At Down East he was a 3-2 record and a 2.37 ERA. In 38 innings and nine appearances (five starts), he has allowed 25 hits, 12 runs (10 earned) and 20 walks while striking out 55.
Kindreich earned the organizational honor with a May that included four starts, a 2-1 record with a 2.84 ERA. He struck out 27 and walked nine in 19 innings of work. Opponents hit .209 against him.
Kindreich is not among the Rangers’ Top 30 prospects per MLB.com, but he moved up the ladder less than a year after being drafted by the Rangers.
The Rangers drafted Kindreich with their eight-round selection (No. 224 overall) last July out of Biola University. In his final season of college, Kindreich went 5-2 in nine starts with a 3.33 ERA. In 54 innings, he allowed 43 hits, 23 runs (20 earned) and 21 walks, while striking out 79.
After his selection, the Rangers assigned Kindreich to their rookie league team in Arizona, where he pitched in six games and finished with a 1.13 ERA. He threw eight innings, gave up five hits and one run, walked three and struck out 18 while recording a save. That led to his assignment to Down East in the spring.
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