4 years agoCleveland Indians relief pitcher James Karinchak made a name for himself in 2020 as a high-leverage setup man with devastating strikeout stuff. Karinchak, along with Milwaukee's Devin Williams, tied Aroldis Chapman's 2014 record for the highest K/9(17.67) in MLB history among pitchers with at least 25 innings in a season. The young righty relies on a two-pitch mix: his high-90s four-seamer and patented knee-buckling curve. Both pitches ranked inside their respective top 10 league-wide in whiff percentage, with the curve inducing swings and misses a staggering 56.3% of the time. He threw them at nearly identical rates (50.2% fastball, 49.8% curveball), making it virtually impossible for hitters to guess correctly which one was coming next. While all of this is impressive and bodes well for his future, what's troubling is the duality of his 2020 campaign. In his first 16 2/3 innings from July 25 through August 25, Karinchak gave up one earned run and walked six hitters. In his final 10 1/3 innings, he gave up seven earned runs and issued 10 walks. Command has always been the concern with Karinchak dating back to his time in the minors, and he's clearly still working on that aspect of his development. Brad Hand is out of the picture, so the closer role in Cleveland is up for grabs at the moment. Karinchak's ability to punch hitters out makes him the ideal candidate to fill that vacancy in 2021 if he can demonstrate more consistent control of his arsenal. Otherwise, it wouldn't be surprising to see Terry Francona give Nick Wittgren a look.--Chris O'Reilly