Kyle Dohy is a LHP in the Phillies farm system. Before the start of the season, not many people were talking about the 21-year-old California native. He started off the season in Lakewood and started to light the world on fire. In 33 2/3 innings pitched Dohy had a 0.80 ERA and 63Ks. He moved up to Clearwater and by late July found himself in AA Reading. On August 15th , Dohy entered rarified waters as he reached the 100K mark on the season as a reliever.
While not many people keep track of strikeouts by minor league relievers, the last Phillies minor league reliever to accumulate 100Ks in a season is current big league breakout Victor Arano . He had 109Ks in 2016 as a 21-year-old through 60 games. This come with an asterisk as he played 14 games with 14Ks between the Arizona Fall League and the Mexican Pacific Winter League.
Ken Giles had 111Ks in 2012 but started 6 games out of 39. In 2014, Giles racked up 102Ks between AA, AAA, and the MLB.
According to Baseball Refence, there is only one other minor league reliever (0 games started) to have over 100Ks so far in 2018, Phillip Diehl with 101Ks in A+ and AA for the Yankees.
From what I can tell, there were only 5 such minor leaguers in 2017.
The last Phillies reliver to strikeout 100 in a season in the MLB was Jake Diekman in 2014 with exactly 100 in 71ip.
Kyle Dohy ranks 5th in all minor league baseball in k/9innings with 15.5. He currently has 107Ks in 62ip with a 2.76 ERA.
To put that into more perspective, All-Star Josh Hader has 109Ks through 61.1ip so far for Milwaukee.
Before the season, Dohy wasn’t even listed as a top 30 prospect by MLB.com. When the midseason prospect rankings came out, Dohy was listed as the Phillies’ 22nd top prospect. MLB.com scouts Dohy’s fastball and slider as above average, giving both pitches a 60 on the 20-80 scale. He also features a changeup that is graded as a 50 on the 20-80.
Dohy is a Southern California product and grew up admiring fellow lefty Clayton Kershaw.
“Definitely matched my repertoire off of what he throws,” remarked Dohy.
The slider has been the key to Dohy’s strikeout prowess. “A big leaguer named Caleb Cotham showed me it. He’s part of my agency and taught me how to throw the pitch.”, said Dohy.
I asked Dohy how he has been able to keep up this torrid pace. He mentioned being aggressive has been the key. “I think it’s just going out every outing and really being aggressive and trying not to give any at bats away and really just putting pressure on hitters at all times and force them to make mistakes.”
Dohy didn’t expect this level of success before the season, but he now has a bigger goal in his sights. “My goal this year wasn’t necessarily to make the big leagues, but I think I’m in a position to do that right now being promoted so fast. I just want to go out and be successful.”, said Dohy. “My goal next year is to make a big league roster.”
Mandatory Photo Credit: Brian Westerholt/Four Seam Images via AP Images
