The inaugural 2012 season for the Kansas City Tornadoes was
not fairy tale one. The Tornadoes lost
their first-ever ABL game, and were never again a .500 team. The team rode a hot streak down the stretch
and were only 4 games under .500 when they hosted a 4-game series against their
heated rival to close the season--- The
Mile High Mustangs. After taking the
first three games of the series, the Tornadoes were looking for the series
sweep in the season finale, and a chance to finish with an even record. The game featured a duel between aces Manuel
Ruiz and Antonio Gomez. Ruiz was given
one unearned run of support in the first inning, and made it stick as the
Mustangs won the game 1-0. The season
ended 80-82 for the Tornadoes.
General
Manager Tim Ervin walked away from the first-year experience feeling, as many
teams do, that pitching was the key to building his franchise. It was what held the team back in 2012, and
he was determined to do something about it.
First, there was a pre-season trade that sent SP Ray Clay and 3B Emilio
Guerrero to the defending World Champs, in exchange for a pair of corner
infielders and two SP prospects, Martin Merritt and Robert Price. There was also a trade just a couple of weeks
ago with SoCal that sent catcher Freddy Castillo and a 17-year old prospect
packing in exchange for two more arms, Chip Sawyer and Ed Miller. But the GM also wanted prepare for the long
term future of the team, with a heavy pitching focus in the draft. There seemed to be a greater shortage on
pitching in the league than on hitting, and the Tornadoes had seen much more
success pulling guys out of AAA to hit in the major leagues, than success
promoting guys to get batters out from
the mound. And so the Tornadoes, who had
the 9th pick in every round of the 2013 draft, selected a closer and
5 starting pitchers in the first six rounds of the draft. The first of these selections came with the 9th
overall pick, when the team grabbed Kazuhiko “KODAK” Kanno. The Tornadoes did not expect the 19-year old
pitcher out of Japan to last the first 8 picks, and had projected him as the 3rd
best SP prospect behind Dale “Melody” Thomas and Louie Latuilippe. Three other SP’s were taken after the Thomas
and Latulippe picks, and none were Kanno, allowing the Tornadoes to get their
man.
When
the Tornadoes started the year with Kanno in A-ball, the rookie made it known
that he was not very happy. Did he feel
A-ball was beneath him? Perhaps. After 7 starts for the San Angelo Mustangs
(A), Kanno had a 2.29 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and batters were hitting just .217
against him. And so he was quickly
promoted to the Wichita Wolverines (AA), and promptly struggled in his first
two starts. But he quickly got back into
his groove and was pitching great. The
Front Office began to discuss moving him to AAA Joplin to see what he could do
with the Fireballs. But the Tornadoes
scouting office kept advising against it, stating very clearly that he would
likely be overmatched in AAA. And so the
team heeded the advice of the scouts who were paid to make these calls, and
kept the kid in AA. But eventually, the
Front Office could resist the temptation no longer. After 11 starts for the Wolverines, Kanno had
posted a 3.12 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and batters were hitting just .200 against him--- even lower than in A-ball. And so, on July 6, Kazuhiko “KODAK” Kanno had
his AAA debut against the Antioch Coal Miners.
The performance was respectable.
Kanno went the distance in losing a 4-2 decision. His line:
8 innings, 7 hits, 4 walks, 4 earned runs. Though he was not overmatched, it was
certainly not a spectacular debut. But
the spectacular was still to come. In
his very next start, Kanno would again go the distance. But this time he would toss a 2-hit shutout
and walked zero batters in dominating the Billings Mustangs. And then, in his 3rd start in AAA,
he would last 8 innings and allow just one earned run for a second straight
win. After six total starts in Joplin,
Kanno now has a 3.69 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and batters are hitting just .226
against him. The kid’s walk/strikeout
ratio has been underwhelming for sure in AAA, but he is also yet to allow a
home run in 39 innings of work.
At
every level of the minors, the batting average against him has been stellar. During a stretch o 7 starts that bridged his promotion
to AAA, Kanno went at least 8 innings every single time. The evidence, at least on the surface,
suggests that perhaps his development as a pitcher is more than keeping pace
with his fast rate of promotions through the organization. And this brings us to the question that is
knock-knock-knocking on the door of the decision makers in Tornado Tower. Is it too early or too risky to promote this
19-year old to The Show? When is it the
right time for the much anticipated KODAK moment?
If the
team were struggling or, at least, many games behind down the stretch it
wouldn’t even be up for discussion.
There have to be some risks to a youngster by promoting him through the
ranks so quickly and placing him in the “Bigs” at just age 19. But how do you weigh this against the current
status of the franchise? The Tornadoes
are currently 62-53, the first time in franchise history they have been this
many games over .500. The team has been within
a game of first place for almost the entire season and has led much of the
way. The Tornadoes are currently tied
with the Hornets in the Sparky Anderson Division, and just a single game behind
the Cardinals in the Wildcard race. And
the Tornadoes seem to have many pieces in place to make a run. The team has a trio of starters who are
pitching brilliantly in Gomez, Cates, and Ramirez, all with ERA’s that have
hovered near 3.00 all season The fastest
man on the planet, Lawrence Fox, is still wreaking havoc in the leadoff spot,
and he is followed in the batting order by two legitimate MVP candidates--- Jesus Cruz and Armando Rodriguez. Sluggers Ricardo Marquis and Bob Watkins
provide some protection for Cruz, and the team has also had surprising
contributions from Stephen Everett & Howard Lawrence with the bat. Add in the best double-play combo in the ABL
and a strong team defense, and there are reasons to believe this team could
make the post-season this year. And once
you are there, anything can happen. But
nothing happens if you don’t make it.
And if the bullpen has anything to say about it, the Tornadoes could be
in trouble. This group never saw a fire
that didn’t deserve a little gasoline infusion.
Considering the loss of Roosevelt “Great One” Patterson in the first
week of the season, it sure could be worse.
But if this team could get a boost in some quality innings down the
stretch, they could make the post-season party.
Could it be time for a KODAK moment?
For
now, the kid from Japan is still a member of the Joplin Fireballs. And the KC Tornadoes have not said when they
plan to promote him. Those close to the
situation say that it is not because they won’t tell, but rather because they
don’t know. One thing is for
certain. KODAK has exceeded their first
year expectations, and with the team performing as they are right now, this is
going to be an interesting decision as the season winds down.
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