Padres have sneaky productive reliever who can put elite bullpen over the top in playoffs

Kyle Hart was mentioned in Mike Petriello’s column that was released on Friday on MLB.com, where he named one of eight under-the-radar relief pitchers who could be impact arms in the postseason. But for Hart, it wasn’t originally supposed to pan out this way.

Hart initially manned the fifth spot in the starting rotation at the start of the season, as injuries to Michael King and Yu Darvish left manager Mike Shildt with holes to fill. While he made six appearances as a starter, he had his fair share of struggles. 

The southpaw posted a 6.66 ERA over 25.2 innings and allowed eight home runs; he also failed to make it through five innings three times.

Kyle Hart's starting struggles have transitioned into important bullpen role with Padres

The poor performance prompted Shildt to option the 32-year-old to Triple-A, so he could regain his confidence. But when starter Ryan Bergert went on the injured list, Hart was recalled and moved to a new role out of the bullpen.

“This is an opportunity for him and for us to have a guy who is a little bit more stretched out who is able to get lefties as well.,” said Mike Shildt in a press conference ahead of their series against the Miami Marlins back in July.

Hart’s last ten appearances have been out of the bullpen, and to many people’s surprise, he has actually been incredibly solid. Over 15.1 innings of relief work, he holds an ERA of 2.93, and has allowed only one home run.

Even his fastball velocity increased since taking on the relief role, rising from low 90s as a starter to mid 90s as a reliever. Since embarking on his new role, Mike Shildt has been using Hart as an “innings-eater,” plugging him in when the Padres are down so he can record as many outs as possible. The truth is, this is the type of role that any reliever should be ready to take on.

While the Padres already have Eli Morgan, Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon, Mason Miller, and Robert Suarez eating up the high-leverage roles, having a guy like Hart to take on lower-leverage situations is vital.

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