Atlanta Braves: Jason Hursh 3-Start Review

Jason Hursh with the M-Braves in 2014. Photo credit: Alan Carpenter, TomahawkTake.com

Jason Hursh

Jason Hursh was the Braves first round pick of the 2013 draft, 31st overall out of Oklahoma State University. He had a reputation as a hard throwing guy with a tremendous sinker who would have gone top 10 like his college teammate Andrew Heaney had the year before to the Marlins. Then he underwent Tommy John surgery after his freshman year of college, causing him to miss his entire 2012 sophomore season. He returned to the hill and was sitting in the low-90s and touching as high as 97 in his junior year of college.

Jason started his pro career at low-A Rome straight out of college, and he made 9 starts, only throwing 27 innings, but sporting a 0.67 ERA. He skipped high-A in 2014, but he looked no worse for the wear as he hurled 148 1/3 innings for Mississippi in 27 appearances (26 starts). While his strikeout rate wasn’t high, Hursh sported a 3.58 ERA and 1.30 WHIP, showing a proclivity to use his heavy fastball low in the zone to drive contact, His walk rate of 7% and his home run rate of 0.3 HR/9 drew a lot of attention, with many, including yours truly, high on Hursh as a inning-eater back end guy for the rotation.

After the offseason of pitching acquisitions, Hursh was returned to Mississippi to start 2015. He was in the midst of a horrid 2015 before the last few starts

I’ll review each game on each page as you go through, with a final review at the end.

Hit “Next” to continue!

May 21st vs. Jacksonville – 6 1/3 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K

First Inning

Right fielder Carlos Lopez led off the game for Jacksonville, and Hursh started him off with a pair of solid sinkers to get in front 0-2. He followed with an inside fastball that just missed. He then threw a looping curveball that Lopez fouled off before hanging another looping curveball that Lopez pulled to the left-center wall for a double.

Kenny Wilson followed, and he bluffed a bunt on the first pitch that missed outside. Wilson then fouled off a bunt attempt on a slider from Hursh. Another sinker low in the zone was called for a strike before Hursh short-armed a fastball outside that drifted for ball 2. Wilson slapped the 5th pitch of the at bat to first baseman Kevin Ahrens and then he rushed the throw to Hursh at first, leading to an error, putting runners on first and third.

Shortstop Aaron Nola was the third batter in the inning, and Hursh started him up with a called strike down low and then went upstairs with a fastball that Nola couldn’t catch up to for an 0-2 count. Nola fouled off the third pitch as Wilson was running to second. Hursh threw a nice slider that was called a ball just off the plate. Nola then slapped a sinker up the middle, and the M-Braves turned it into a 6-4-3 double play as the run scored. It was the first run Hursh had allowed in the first inning of the season.

David Adams came to the plate as the cleanup hitter, and Adams took the second pitch of the at bat on the ground to right field for a single.

First baseman Viosergy Rosa came to the plate, and Hursh attempted to feed him a steady diet of offspeed pitches, but he missed on two sliders to start the at bat before Rosa flew out to left field for the third out.

Second Inning

Ryan Rieger led off the second inning with a first pitch double to the left-center wall on a hanging slider.

Sharif Othman slapped the first fastball from Hursh hard, but foul. He then grounded a sinker to short for the first out, but Rieger moved up to third base.

Second baseman Justin Bohn came to the plate with one out and a runner at third, and he watched a sinker for a ball before fouling off the next pitch, also a sinker. Hursh hung a slider, but Bohn swung through it for strike two. Hursh reached back for a hard fastball that Bohn foul tipped into Matt Kennelly‘s glove for a strike out.

Opposing pitcher Kendry Flores was next to the plate, and Hursh attacked the low zone, missing on the first pitch and getting a foul on his second pitch. He missed low and outside with a sinker before coming back with a hard fastball that Flores fouled into the plate. A looping curve stayed high for ball 2 before Hursh got Flores to chase a low fastball for his second strike out of the inning.

Third Inning

Leadoff hitter Lopez led off the third, and Hursh went after him with two early sinkers for a 1-1 count. Hursh missed high with a slider for ball two before he got Lopez to foul off a high fastball. Hursh missed up and in before Lopez took a sinking changeup the other way for a double down the third base line, the third inning in a row with a double to lead off the game.

Center fielder Wilson followed and Hursh started him off with a slider low. Wilson laid down an excellent bunt that advanced Lopez to third.

Nola came to the plate and lined the second pitch of the at bat off of the extended glove of Emerson Landoni for an RBI single.

Third baseman Adams came to the plate and Hursh missed low with a breaking pitch before getting Adams to foul off a changeup. Hursh came back at Adams with a low outside fastball that Adams fouled off to the right side. Kennelly seemed crossed up on the previous two pitches, and he went out to the mound between pitches. Adams slapped the next pitch for a hard line drive over Ahrens’ glove at first for a single, putting runners at first and second.

Hursh got Rosa to tap a slider back to the mound for the second out of the inning, but the runners moved up to second and third.

Hursh appeared much more calm after that out, and he showed with his attack at Rieger, going after Rieger for a first pitch strike and throwing a nasty slider that Rieger was somehow able to lay off. Hursh went low and in with a curveball, and thankfully Kennelly made a nice move to get it. Corban Joseph made a diving play on the next pitch as Rieger grounded out to second for the third out of the inning.

Fourth Inning

Othman led off the fourth, and he was able to hold off on a high fastball before chasing a low slider. He then skied a hanging slider to center field for the first out.

Hursh missed outside to Bohn on the first pitch and then low on the second, but Bohn grounded the low sinker on the third pitch of the at bat to third base for out number two.

The pitcher Flores watched the first two pitches, and then he took a weak swing at a high fastball for strike two. Hursh went back to the same spot, and Flores grounded out to second base for the third out and a quick 1-2-3 inning for Hursh.

Fifth Inning

Lopez led off and went after the first pitch, a looping curve up in the zone, and he flew out to left field.

Center fielder Wilson watched a fastball outside, and then he sat on a curveball in nearly the same spot. He rocketed a fastball foul into the first base stands. Hursh sawed him off inside, and Wilson grounded out to second base.

Nola came up without runners on for the first time of the day, and he let loose with a 93 mph sinker low. The second pitch was hit on a line, but hit right at shorstop Landoni to end the inning.

Sixth Inning

Hursh had Adams looking at strike one before getting him to ground to third baseman Rio Ruiz.

Left-handed Rosa came to the plate, and Hursh missed inside twice before Rosa fouled off a third inside pitch. Hursh got Rosa to swing through a slider inside. Hursh finally went outside with a fastball that Rosa swung through for Hursh’s 3rd strikeout of the evening.

Hursh opened Rieger with a hard slider high, and Rieger took the next pitch up the middle for a single to center field.

Othman watched a low pitch before fouling off a high fastball. Othman fouled off a low slider for strike two before Hursh missed high and inside. With Rieger going on the pitch, Othman was fooled by a slider low and inside and ended up on his knees after swinging for the strikeout, Hursh’s 4th on the game.

Seventh Inning

Hursh got a quick strike on Bohn, but he missed badly outside on ball two that Kennelly was set up inside for and the pitch went far outside. Bohn took the third pitch for a strike before he lined a high slider into right field for a single.

Zack Cox pinch hit for the pitcher, and he slapped the first pitch up the middle for a seeing eye single between the Braves middle infielders.

Lopez bunted foul on the first pitch, which was Hursh’s 90th of the game. Lopez bunted hard up the third base line on a high strike, but again the bunt went foul. Hursh missed high with a fastball for ball one. Lopez fouled a sinker off to the third base side to stay alive. Hursh missed low and in with a fastball, trying to get Lopez to chase, which he did on nearly the same pitch the next pitch for Hursh’s fifth strikeout.

Wilson watched the first pitch sail high and outside for ball one. On the second pitch, Wilson took a slider to left field for a single, loading the bases and ending Hursh’s night.

May 27th vs. Pensacola – 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 8 K

First Inning

Hursh met up with Keyvius Sampson again against Pensacola after having such success just 11 days prior in the same match up.

Ryan Wright led off the game watching a called inside strike before watching two balls low. Wright’s first swing put a single to center field.

Jesse Winker looked at two outside pitches to go 1-1 in the count. He then fouled off two pitches before grounding an inside pitch to second base, getting a force out at second base, but the Braves were unable to get the double play on Winker at first.

First baseman Ray Chang took the third pitch of his at bat to center field on a line, putting runners at first and second with one out.

Kyle Waldrop followed and took the first pitch down the first base line for a double, scoring Winker and Chang.

Seth Mejias-Brean took an 0-1 pitch and singled between the shortstop and third baseman putting runners on the corners with still only one out.

Hursh really changed facially after that single, and he seemed to go to laser focus. He struck out Kyle Skipworth on four pitches and pounded the zone on Juan Perez until he popped out in shallow right to second baseman Corban Joseph.

Second Inning

After the long first inning, Hursh faced the opposing pitcher Keyvius Sampson to start the second inning, batting in the 8th spot in the lineup. Sampson struck out quickly on three pitches.

Beau Amaral came up next as Pensacola attempted to use the “back to back leadoff hitters” approach by moving the pitcher to 8th in the lineup. Hursh pounded the outside corner on Amaral, getting him to roll over a ground ball to shortstop for the second out.

Leadoff hitter Wright took the second pitch he saw, a hanging slider at belt level, between second and first for a single just beyond Corban Joseph’s reach at second base.

That brought up Winker, and Hursh approached him low and outside and did a very good job getting Winker to offer at pitches out of the zone, striking him out on a pitch just below the knees for Hursh’s second strike out of the inning and 3rd of the game.

Third Inning

Hursh went after Chang hard low and inside, and he thought he had Chang struck out on the 4th pitch of the at bat, but he got a make up call with a called strike on the next pitch for his 4th strikeout of the game.

Hursh continued working low in the zone, but he wasn’t getting the calls on Waldrop, as he walked on 6 pitches, two of the balls being very close to strikes. Hursh showed visible facial frustration after he didn’t get the fourth pitch, which was a legit ball, and when he didn’t get the call on the full count, he slapped his glove in frustration.

Mejias-Brean continued his role as the thorn in Mississippi’s side this year by ruining a very good change up from Hursh and getting a single up the middle, putting runners at first and second.

Hursh once again had Skipworth’s number, pounding the low and outside zone, getting a strikeout on the fourth pitch for Hursh’s 5th K of the game.

Hursh again kept the ball low and outside, and he put a slider just on the black of the plate and got Juan Perez to pull the ball on the ground to the first baseman for out #3.

Fourth Inning

Sampson once again led off an inning, and he did make contact this time, grounding out to third base on the second pitch of the at bat.

Amaral wasn’t able to get a bunt down on the second pitch of his at bat, and he played into Hursh moving the strike zone as he rolled over the top of a high fastball, grounding out hard to shorstop.

Hursh missed up and in with two breaking balls on Wright, which led to a brief look out from Wright before Hursh got Wright to swing at a ball off the plate inside for his 6th strikeout.

Fifth Inning

Winker led off the fifth, and he handled a very nice inside pitch for a single to right field, splitting the first baseman and second baseman.

Chang jumped on an early pitch in his at bat as well, but Joseph couldn’t make a good transfer to throw the ball to first and didn’t get the double play on a grounder to shorstop, so the Braves only got one out.

Waldrop jumped on the first pitch from Hursh, lining a solid single in front of center fielder Mallex Smith. The quick flight of the ball could have afforded a chance at a force out at second, but Smith broke wrong on the ball, so he wasn’t in great throwing position, so runners were at first and second.

For about the first time in the season, Mejias-Brean did the Braves a favor, swinging at ball four and grounding it to third base, starting a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Sixth Inning

Skipworth actually worked a full count, but he couldn’t catch up to a solid fastball, and he struck out for his 3rd time of the game, Hursh’s 7th of the game.

Hursh wasn’t getting low calls with Juan Perez on low inside sinkers, so he went outside at the belt with his slider, and Perez got good wood on the ball, but flew out to center field.

Cam Maron pinch hit for Sampson and drew a 2-0 count, but Hursh pounded the low zone in three straight pitches, getting his 8th strike out of the game as Maron watched strike three go by.

Feb 23, 2015; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Jason Hursh fields a ground ball during spring training workouts at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Overall Review – 18 1/3 IP, 21 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 17 K

Hursh isn’t a guy that will blow you away coming off the bus at 6’3 and a bit over 200 pounds. One thing I noticed in the first Pensacola outing is that on his sinkers, he finishes very straight to the plate, but on his breaking pitches, he often falls toward the first base side, which would be a pretty easy tell for hitters. Hursh does get good extension in front of himself on the mound, which would make the pitch play up in velocity.

Many guys miss too low with their breaking stuff, and with a sinker being the primary pitch, that’s where you need to miss, but Hursh’s misses are almost always up in the zone, which is why he’s been tattooed this year. Hursh pitches to contact, and defense has certainly been an issue at all levels of the Braves minors this year, but he’ll struggle if he continues to walk over 5 guys per 9, which he was doing before these starts. Keeping extra guys off base is very important for a guy who isn’t striking out a ton of guys.

Hursh’s repertoire is pretty straight forward with a sinking fastball, change up, slider, and a looping 12-6 curve. From my viewing, the curve isn’t a true swing and miss pitch, but it is very hard to get good contact on the pitch, and it has very good late break, so it’s not the type of 12-6 that hangs up for “tee shots” for a hitter to pound. The slider, on the other hand, has a proclivity to hang up and in the zone. Nearly every miss with his slider in the starts I watched was belt or above right in the middle of the plate. That’s the type of ball that does get driven, and the hardest balls hit in the Jacksonville game were all sliders.

The change up is where Hursh could go from good to great. He didn’t use the pitch a lot, but it was quite effective when he did use it. Once again, as with many of Hursh’s offerings, it’s more of a contact pitch than a swing and miss pitch, but it really threw off hitters, and even threw me off in the first game with Mississippi’s poor camera angle not really letting me see the pitch flight and not noticing at all when he was throwing a sinker or a change up, which is a very good thing for the success of the pitch. If they’re getting weak contact on the sinker, change, and curve, that could be enough to give Hursh a long career at the back end of a rotation.

The third start was a poor camera angle to see pitch movement, but I was impressed by Hursh’s location throughout the game. He did miss with his slider high, but in general, he was at the belt or below for all but about 10 of his 95 pitches in the game. Hursh didn’t eclipse 100 pitches in any of the starts, and the biggest take away is that he only walked 2 in 18 1/3 innings pitched. Hursh will always give up hits, especially with more poor defense in the minors (Peterson and Simmons up the middle would have meant at least 3 less hits on Wednesday, for instance), but as long as he can keep the walks low, this can be the guy we were excited for before the season.

One more tidbit from M-Braves radio man Kyle Tait to finish this up: