Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla could be the answer for new additions

The Padres love adding projects to pitching coach Ruben Niebla's plate. After turning Michael King into a full-time starting pitcher last year, which saw him succeed far-beyond expectation, Niebla has two new guys to tinker with in 2025.

Entering his fourth season with San Diego, Niebla signed a multi-year deal with the Friars this past offseason. The organization has an obvious faith in him, and hopefully, he can improve Nick Pivetta and Kyle Hart this year. Things are already off to a good start in that department, which shouldn't come to a surprise, considering Nieba's magic has panned out the last three years.

Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla could be the answer for new additions

Pivetta signed a four-year deal with San Diego, which tells us that they believe in his ability to improve. Pivetta's ERA has been a tad inflated these last couple of seasons (above 4.00 four years in a row), mainly because he falls victim to the home run more often than not. In 2024, he gave up 28 home runs, which marks a career-worst for the 32-year-old right-hander.

However, he's already working with Niebla. In a recent video posted to X, you can see that Niebla is showing him different pitching grips, which immediately saw a better result.

Kyle Hart will be a different project for Niebla. He hasn't thrown in the majors since 2020, spending last season in the Korean Baseball Organization before signing a one-year deal with San Diego. In between those stints, Hart was a steady minor league pitcher, but hopefully he can make a comeback to the bigs.

As for the rest of the Padres pitchers, Niebla has done a terrific job this spring working with Matt Waldron and Ryan Bergert. Both arms have dominated through two outings each, placing them both in contention of a potential spot as the fifth starter in the rotation for 2025.

If Pivetta and Hart were ever looking for a career revamp, coming to San Diego was one of their best bets. Working with Niebla will undoubtedly benefit them, and judging by the way others in the organization have fared, they may get better sooner rather than later.