Oakland Athletics Acquire Reliever Aaron Kurcz From Atlanta Braves
A’s fans on Twitter probably noticed that the front office made a minor move today. Atlanta Braves beat writer Mark Bowman tweeted that the Oakland Athletics acquired RHP Aaron Kurcz in exchange for their 113th International bonus pool slot. Though the move is minor, the A’s need to give serious consideration to all bullpen candidates, given their recent struggles.
Kurcz was previously the 26th ranked prospect in the Braves system. His scouting report notes that he likes to throw heat. With a fastball that averages 94 MPH but tops out at 96 MPH, he earned a well-above-average score on his fastball. The report also notes that he throws an above-average slider.
The main concern about Kurcz is that he has shown difficulty being able to control his pitches. If he is unable to overcome this, he may look a lot like Ryan Cook does right now. That said, the A’s are not necessarily in need of another flame-throwing reliever that has problems hitting the strike zone.
But one thing is certain. When his slider is on…
Aaron Kurcz delivers a slider. Credit: FanGraphs
…it is nasty.
Before the A’s picked him up, he was a reliever for Triple-A Gwinnett. There, he pitched 33 innings while maintaining a respectable 3.27 ERA, and even earning seven saves. His control issues are evident at that level, though. Thanks in part to walking 21 batters, he posted a 1.52 WHIP. The A’s are going to expect him to correct these control issues if he wants to have any shot at making the major-league club.
To be clear, all of Kurcz’s appearances in Gwinnett this year have been in the relief role. The A’s have no intention of using him in a starting role. In the worst case scenario, Kurcz will just be used as a piece to fill in the A’s farm system. However, if he is able to work out his command issues, he will compete with R.J. Alvarez as the next man up in the A’s bullpen.