Jansen Ditches Catching, Hitches Ride To Majors

Ever since the Los Angeles Dodgers signed Kenley Geronimo Jansen out of Curacao in 2004, his Howitzer-like arm strength has stood out. A catcher with a burly 6-foot-6, 220 pound frame, Jansen threw out 37 percent of base runners attempting to steal on his watch in the minors. He achieved fame during the 2009 World Baseball Classic as part of the Netherlands team that toppled a Dominican Republic juggernaut featuring Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, David Ortiz, Miguel Tejada, Pedro Martinez, Ubaldo Jimenez and Edinson Volquez, among others. Jansen helped seal a 3-2 victory by gunning down Wily Taveras on a ninth-inning attempted steal of third base. Do you believe in miracles? Ja!

Unfortunately, dude couldn’t hit. The “switch hitter” posted a .257/.347/.341 triple-slash in 475 Rookie Ball plate appearances and .203/.281/.353 line in 347 trips to the plate in A-ball. Not wanting Jansen’s cannon to go to waste, the Dodgers shifted him to the mound toward the end of last season. Jansen logged 11.2 innings with Inland Empire of the High-A California League, punching out 19 batters but handing out 11 walks and surrendering six runs.

He then competed in the Arizona Fall League, where he opened eyes by popping the catcher’s mitt with 96-97 MPH radar gun readings. Jansen averaged about 95 MPH with his fastball, according to Baseball America. While he didn’t pitch much in the AFL (just 4.2 innings), he offered enough promise for L.A. to add him to the 40-man roster, protecting him from the Rule V Draft. Kenley got some prospect love, too, with BA naming him the 14th-best prospect in the Dodgers’ farm system. They lauded the right-hander’s mid-to-upper-nineties velocity and his promising, if unrefined, low-80’s slider.

This season, Jansen has spent time at High-A Inland Empire and Chattanooga of the Double-A Southern League. In 45 combined frames between the 66ers and the Lookouts, Jansen fanned a jaw-dropping 78 hitters (15.6 K/9) while issuing 23 free passes (4.6 BB/9). According to Minor League Splits, the 22-year-old’s park-and-luck adjusted FIP was 2.36. Throwing lots of high Gouda, Jansen induced infield flies 26.5 percent of the time. Jansen has tossed two innings since the Dodgers called him up on July 23rd, chucking his fastball at an average velocity just short of 95 MPH while sitting around 80 MPH with the slider.

Within the course of a year, Jansen has gone from flailing at A-ball pitching to flinging heat in the majors. As Sergio Santos and now Jansen have shown this season, the path from minor league position player to big league bullpen arm is short if you can bring it.