King of The Hill
The Unsung Bullpen Arm of Bryan King
I’ll be honest. Despite thinking I follow the Astros and their farm system fairly closely, I had no idea who Bryan King was when his contract was selected on June 22nd.
Not a clue.
King was a 30th-round selection of the Cubs in the 2019 draft out of McNeese State University.
King’s time at McNeese was rather unremarkable. A 16-14 record and 5.06 ERA across 231 innings, which may explain the 30th round.
But he was immediately good as a pro, throwing 9.1 shutout innings in Rookie ball, before logging 14.2 innings for Eugene in A- with a 3.07 ERA.
The pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor league season, but King’s 2021 wasn’t as good: A 4.30 ERA in 37.2 innings with A+ South Bend and a 6.00 ERA in 6 innings with AA Tennessee.
2022 found King starting the season in Myrtle Beach with the Class A Pelicans, but it wouldn’t be long before he was back in Tennessee.
King threw 8 shutout innings with the Pelicans and then recorded a 2.51 ERA in Tennessee before he was injured and had Tommy John surgery in July of that year.
In December of 2022, the Astros selected King from the Cubs in the Minor League Rule 5 draft and he sat out all of 2023 recovering from the Tommy John Surgery.
King began 2024 with Sugar Land and after recording a 1.87 ERA in 31 appearances, was called to Houston on June 22 when Nick Hernandez was optioned and Victor Caratini went on the IL.
King has made the most of his time with the Astros, sticking while other, more experienced arms like Seth Martinez and Shawn Dubin ride the Yoyo between Sugar Land and Houston.
It’s easy to see why just looking at King’s traditional stats: A 2.18 ERA over 22 appearances, totaling 20.2 innings, along with a 1.02 WHIP.
His walks (9) are a little high, but he’s striking out 11.3 per 9 innings and has allowed only 12 hits and just one home run.
While recognizing that King has pitched in low-leverage situations except last night (2.56 aLI) and a three-appearance stretch in July, he’s been remarkably reliable.
Only 4 times (in 22 appearances) has he given up a run (a total of 5 allowed) and 17 times (in 22 appearances) he added to the team’s Win Probability (last night included).
The left-handed King has been good against righties (.171 batting average against) and lefties (.156), at home (.189) and on the road (.139), in June (.133), July (.219) and August (.115).
Of particular importance to me is the first batter King faces is 2 for 19 and slashing .105/.227/.105.
Will his role increase? That’s still up in the air after he was a bit shaky in a high-leverage situation last night, but overall he’s done what’s been asked, saved arms and in a bullpen full of a rotating cast of characters and question marks King has been a huge bright spot this season.