Ever wondered which Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> reliever has been with the team the longest? When looking at the active roster, only three were even with the team last season. Two of those three were with the team in 2021. Going back to 2019 leaves only one \u2014 Kevin Ginkel<\/strong><\/a>. While Andrew Chafin<\/a><\/strong> is in his sixth season with the Diamondbacks, he left in 2020 and didn\u2019t come back until this past spring. That leaves Ginkel, in his fifth season with the team, as the one whose current tenure began longest ago.<\/p>\n It is not unusual to see high turnover rates in bullpens. In fact, it is rare to see a reliever stay with one team for long. Ginkel calls the fact that he\u2019s in his fifth season with the team \u201can accomplishment, especially as a reliever.\u201d He added, \u201cIt\u2019s been nice. I hope to continue to be here and be in a key role, be a key cog, in our team\u2019s chances of winning.\u201d Bullpen coach Mike Fetters<\/a><\/strong> certainly feels he\u2019s a key cog in the team\u2019s chances of winning, saying simply, \u201cIf he pitches well, we win games.\u201d<\/p>\n Kevin Ginkel pitched collegiately at Southwestern College (Chula Vista, California) and the University of Arizona<\/a>. In his senior year (2016) at Arizona, they finished as the national runner-up to Coastal Carolina. The Diamondbacks selected Ginkel in the 22nd round of the 2016 Amateur Draft. While he obviously would have been thrilled to play anywhere in the majors, he was happy with being drafted by the Diamondbacks. The San Diego native said about being drafted by the Diamondbacks, \u201cI have so much family here. And I\u2019m not too far away from my parents.\u201d<\/p>\n Ginkel worked his way up through the minors, beginning in late 2016. He pitched in the Arizona Fall League in 2018 before hitting Double-A and Triple-A in 2019. While with Triple-A Reno, he tossed 16 2\/3 innings across 15 appearances. Thirteen of those appearances were scoreless, a rate of 86.7% (league average is generally 70%). Two of the three runs he allowed came on solo home runs. To be that stingy in run prevention while pitching in the high-elevation environment of Reno is impressive. It earned a major-league callup, and he debuted on August 5 against the Philadelphia Phillies<\/a> at Chase Field.<\/p>\n Ginkel raised eyebrows immediately. He made 25 relief appearances over the final two months of the 2019 season. In 21 of them, he did not give up an earned run, and in 18, he held opponents completely scoreless. His WHIP was 0.986, and his ERA was 1.48. In addition, opponents batted .174 against him with a 29.2% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. Fans of the Goose Egg statistic will appreciate this nugget \u2014 he had 10 Goose Eggs and no broken eggs.<\/p>\n \u201c(Kevin) picked up right where he needed to after having a very successful campaign in Triple-A. He was on a roll \u2014 he was on a great roll. We won a lot of baseball games because of him and what he was able to do setting up Archie Bradley<\/a><\/strong>,\u201d manager Torey Lovullo<\/a><\/strong> said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was lights out,\u201d Fetters said. \u201cAnd he was confident. All his stuff was working. No one had seen him before. Small sample size, but he was really, really good stuff-wise.\u201d<\/p>\nEarly Career of Kevin Ginkel<\/h3>\n
Debut Season<\/h3>\n
Growing Pains<\/h3>\n