Branden Kline Honored

Is it too early to be thinking about baseball season? Well probably, but amidst all the success of the two revenue sports this season it’s easy to overlook where UVA’s bread has traditionally been buttered, and while baseball hasn’t always been great, I would be willing to argue that they have been the most consistently successful program down here since I’ve been here, excluding Tennis, but that deserves to be excluded. Stop choking and then come talk to me. Moving on.

Ace of Staff, Friday Night Starter, and all around monster on the mound Branden Kline was picked as a preseason All-American on Wednesday. Kline, who when we last saw him was throwing a complete game’s worth of pitches out of the bullpen in relief of Danny Hultzen against South Carolina in the College World Series, figures to attempt to fill the gigantic shoes left in the ace of staff slot by most likely the greatest player in the history of the program. Teaming Kline with Kyle Crockett, the Hoos will most likely again boast one of the more fearsome one-two punches in the ACC this season, and the two will complement each other well.



Kline uses the overhand armslot to cut
down through the ball adding a lot of
velocity but taking away movement,
a tell tale sign a power pitcher

Kline brings a fastball in the 92-95 mph range as well as a devastating slider. Thowing from a straight overhand form Kline relies more on overpowering opponents than being crafty. When asked about making the transition to starter former catcher John Hicks was quoted as saying “His stuff is amazing. When he is on, it is almost untouchable. I have complete confidence in his ability to take a role as a starter and run with it.” If you don’t trust a catcher’s opinion I’m not sure who you do. Kline is working on expanding his repertoire in the offseason to add a more traditional curve ball and a changeup. If you remember watching Danny pitch you know that the key to being effective in this league is having a wide variety of pitches that you can throw effectively, especially as a starter where you will go through the batting order multiple times. Danny had multiple versions of the same pitch that he would throw in different situations and while no one expects Kline to develop that good of control to have that sort of arsenal you can bet Coach Kuhn will prepare him to know what situation calls for what pitch. If Kline get develop the curve and the change to a reasonable level, or even one to a plus level, look out, he is going to be deadly.

When it gets closer to the season starting I plan on going through this team to give you all a good breakdown of where we stand as a program. There will be a lot of quality players to replace, but there is reason for optimism. Reloading, not rebuilding.

Go Hoos