Corey Kluber Focused on "Right Now" with Rangers, Not Past Success
ARLINGTON, Texas — When the Texas Rangers traded for Corey Kluber in December, it clearly shifted the strength of the team to the mound. The Rangers have consistently had the reputation of slugging their way to success throughout their history. If they wind up competing in 2020, it likely won't happen without a stellar performance by a deep, revamped, capable rotation.
From 2014-2018, Kluber was in the conversation for the best pitcher in the game. He captured Cy Young awards in 2014 and 2017 and finished third in the voting in 2016 and 2018. Over those five years, he pitched an average of 218 innings with a 2.85 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and a 10.1 strikeouts-per-nine-innings (K/9).
The Rangers traded for a pitcher with a reputation that demanded respect.
They were also trading for a pitcher who only made seven starts in 2019. Kluber suffered a fractured forearm after getting hit with a line drive on May 1. An oblique injury while rehabbing in August derailed any chance of returning before the season ended. But even in his seven starts, Kluber had an inflated ERA of 5.80 and a 1.65 WHIP.
When Kluber was introduced in January at the Rangers' Peek At The Park event, Kluber said he took advantage of the time off, having the opportunity to revisit some mechanical issues that may have led to his struggles in 2019.
Now, Kluber has had an abbreviated Spring Training and Summer Camp to get back to form. However, Kluber isn't focusing on previous accolades as his tenure with the Rangers begins this weekend.
“I don’t look at it as comparing where I’m at to previous years or last year," Kluber said on Monday. "I’m in a good spot with everything that I’m doing. I feel good both physically and mentally. I think that’s what’s going to allow me to go out there and have success.
"I am not trying to achieve a certain threshold that I may or may not have gotten to in the past. I think focusing on where I’m at right now and doing the best with what I have to work with right now is the way I approach it.”
Kluber is set to take the mound on Sunday against the Colorado Rockies at Globe Life Field. It will be his first major league start in nearly 15 months.
"I would imagine that once the game starts, it'll feel pretty normal to me," Kluber said. "I think that that's kind of the exciting part of it, is getting a chance to go out there and compete against guys again. ...I think that once I get back into into that setting it'll feel pretty normal to me."
Kluber may not be trying to replicate previous success, but the 6.4-million-dollar question (prorated from $17.5 million) on fans' minds is if he can look anything like the guy that had one of the most dominant five-year stretches in recent history.
Throughout camp, Ranger hitters have had the opportunity to face Kluber a few times, most recently on Monday's final tune-up before the season. Needless to say, they're ready to face someone else.
"All of our hitters were coming back today saying, 'I don't want to face this guy anymore. His ball moves too late. You don't know what it is until it's halfway to you,'" Rangers manager Chris Woodward said of his players.
That sounds like the Kluber we've grown accustomed to for the better part of a decade.
Over Kluber's career, his vertical release point has continuously dipped, but it didn't become an issue until after a certain point. In the graphic below, there began to be a noticeable difference in production was his release point fell down to 5.25 feet. That dip coincided with Kluber's second half of 2018 wasn't nearly as productive as the first half, and also included a rough outing in the 2018 postseason against the Astros.
Chris Woodward and his staff are not oblivious to this dip in his release point. He emphasized that on Monday, revealing some encouraging news for all parties involved.
"His release height has gotten higher, which is what we wanted," Woodward said. "He has a tendency, when he drops down, his stuff gets flat. It doesn't have that late bite. It doesn't have that depth to it. It does right now, and today was probably one of the better days that we saw with that data, which was very encouraging.
"You could see by the results. These guys came back scratching their head because they couldn't see it. It's like I said, the ball is two-thirds of the way to them and then it just darts left or darts right. It makes a really tough at-bat. I'm really pleased to see that right now."
There are external concerns externally about his velocity, but Woodward doesn't seem too distressed about that.
"His velocity has kind of gone down over the years, but his stuff is very similar to what it was two or three years ago," Woodward said.
When the Rangers traded for Kluber, they were hoping to land the Klubot that dominated baseball in 2014-18 . If he's truly fixed his delivery issues and can command his stuff, he could easily become the Rangers' best pitcher. That's not a knock on Mike Minor or Lance Lynn, who both earned Cy Young votes of their own in 2019. But when Kluber is at his very best, he can be a Cy Young favorite.
That kind of three-headed monster atop a rotation can transform a team into a contender. Kluber has enjoyed getting to know his new team. Despite the outside noise, he believes this group has the chance to compete.
"I don't see why not," Kluber said. "I think that's the mind-set, every day you show up to win no matter who the opponent is, whether other people think you're better than them or not. I think what matters is the 26, 28 or 30 guys in that clubhouse think the same thing."
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