Angels Manager Reveals Rationale Behind Demoting Jack Kochanowicz

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jack Kochanowicz got demoted to Triple-A as he tries to work on his stuff and regain his confidence pitching in Major League Baseball.

Kochanowicz was drafted in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft and became a top pitching prospect for an Angels organization that needs quality arms.

The righty is in his second season with the Angels' major league team, but it has been an up-and-down year for Kochanowicz.

This is the second time that he has been demoted, the first coming right before the All-Star break.

Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery believes Kochanowicz can find some confidence in the minor leagues and return mentally prepared for the majors.

“The biggest thing is when you’re searching for confidence, you have to have a little bit of gains and some successes that give you more of that,” Montgomery said recently.

“I think taking the pressure off, going there and having the opportunity to stretch out, get to some secondary stuff and work on some of those things, will be a big help.”

This season, Kochanowicz has a 6.19 ERA, 5.66 FIP, and a 5.93 strikeout per nine innings rate. According to pitch modeling, his stuff+ is 96, location+ is 93, and his overall pitching+ is 90.

All three metrics, calculated by FanGraphs, are below average and indicate why he is struggling so much. His stuff and command are not good enough, and his pitch mix is not helping either.

The righty is in the 12th percentile in expected ERA, 11th percentile in expected batting average, 2nd percentile in average exit velocity, and 4th percentile in strikeout rate.

Despite throwing his fastball at an average of 95.6 mph — 71st percentile in MLB — Kochanowicz is not getting swing-and-misses, and hitters are making hard contact on most of his pitches.

Last season, he didn't get many whiffs, similar to this season. However, his command was much better — as he was in the 88th percentile in walk rate — and he gave up fewer barrels.

The Angels have struggled to develop young starting pitching, typically rushing their arms up the minor league ladder and calling them up quickly.

They end up flip flopping between the minors and majors and can never find their footing in the big leagues, at least with the Angels.

Some, like Griffin Canning, find success elsewhere. Los Angeles cannot afford to have these pitching prospects continue busting, making Kochanowicz's development key to rewriting the narrative on the organization's process.

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