Nathan Karns 1st MLB Pitch. 5/28/13

As if he needed any more pressure in his major league debut, Nathan Karns was put in the difficult position of attempting to slow down the surging Baltimore Orioles lineup in game 2 of the Battle of the Beltway series Tuesday evening at Nationals Park.  The 2012 Nationals Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Karns pitched well through the first three innings, only allowing one run and three hits.  In the 4^th inning, Karns began to scuffle, allowing solo home runs to Chris Davis and J.J. Hardy, and was only able to retire one hitter in the 5^th inning before tiring and giving way to the Nationals bullpen.

As should be expected from a pitcher with less than 225 professional innings and none above the Double-A level, Karns performance Tuesday night was rather uneven, pitching 4.1 innings against the powerful Orioles lineup, allowing three runs on five hits, two walks, two home runs and three strikeouts.  Karns threw 85 pitches in his debut, 50 for strikes (58.8%) and 35 balls, consisting of 63 fastballs, 16 curveballs, and 6 changeups.  His average fastball velocity was 94.70mph, topping out at 97.36mph, and he struggled with his fastball command, throwing only 39 of 63 for strikes (61.9%).  This hindered his ability to get ahead of hitters, as Karns threw 1^st pitch strikes to only 11 of 20 hitters (55%) he faced.  (Thanks BrooksBaseball.net)

Karns did induce six groundball outs against only one fly ball out, and produced seven pure swings-and-misses (8.2%) from the Orioles hitters, solid numbers and signs his stuff is major league quality.  Also worth noting from his start is Karns did not throw one curveball to a left-handed hitter, and did not throw a changeup to a right-handed batter: while this does make sense on the surface, major league hitters are exceptionally smart and will pick up on this trend.  Karns needs to refine his changeup so he can be more effective against left-handed hitters in the future, and he must develop more confidence to at least show the hitters a third option to keep them off-balance and not guessing between only two pitches. 

While the final statistical line does not look particularly appealing, Nationals fans should be proud of the effort Nathan Karns gave them last night in overcoming a rain delay and typical rookie nerves to pitch well enough for the team to win.  Because the effort involved in his delivery and his below-average changeup will cause him to struggle against left-handed hitters, Karns career will probably be relegated to the bullpen.  However, with two dominating pitches in his mid-90s fastball and mid-80s curveball, along with his sturdy, powerful frame, Karns could find himself a valuable 75-90 inning reliever annually in the mold of fellow National Craig Stammen.

This is an increasingly valuable pitcher as bullpens become even more rigid in their roles and usage, and Karns should be a valuable member of the Nationals pitching staff later this season and for years to come.  Kudos to the Nationals organization for developing this former 12^th round pick into a potentially valuable member of the pitching staff.