In 2010, Adam Kolarek was an 11th-round pick by the Mets out of the University of Maryland. Before he could make the majors though, the Mets released him in 2015. However, after a trade with the Dodgers, the Mets have brought Kolarek back to Flushing for a second stint. Since coming back to Queens, the sidearming lefty has impressed with three scoreless appearances and has struck out four of the first 14 batters he’s faced as a Met.
Adam Kolarek, Photo by Herm Card
Kolarek entered Friday night’s game in the seventh inning, relieving Kodai Senga with lefties Nolan Schanuel and Shohei Ohtani coming up. On a 1-2 pitch, Kolarek froze Schanuel on a low-and-away slider to end the inning. In the eighth, the southpaw retired Ohtani on a grounder to Pete Alonso, hustling over to cover first base and get the out. After an infield single by Brandon Drury, Kolarek got Mike Moustakas to whiff on another down-and-away slider for the second out of the inning. Trevor Gott relieved Kolarek and struck out Luis Rengifo to strand the inherited runner on base.
Kolarek has never been a player who blows opponents away with velocity, but his funky delivery has always made him difficult to hit. Drury’s single, which registered at just 73.5 miles per hour, was the first hit Kolarek allowed as a Met, making his opponents just 1-for-14 against him.
Kolarek doesn’t get a ton of whiffs on his sinker, but he entered Friday’s action with a 40% whiff rate against his slider. Opponents also had just a .166 xBA (expected batting average)and .218 xSLG (expected slugging percentage) against Kolarek before Friday. Kolarek has always generated ground balls at a high rate, and he’s recorded just two outs in the air since coming to New York, compared to five groundouts. For his career, the 34-year-old owns a strong 62.5% ground ball rate.
What a play by Adam Kolarek! pic.twitter.com/VCutzeiC9i
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 23, 2023
A true lefty specialist, Kolarek has held southpaws to a weak .187/.239/.255 batting line, compared to a .308/.384/.485 line against righties. Unfortunately, the three-batter minimum hurts a pitcher like Kolarek, but if he can return to his 2020 form, where he pitched to a 0.95 ERA in 19 innings, then the Mets might have stolen an arm to lengthen their bullpen.
Kolarek has thrown as many as 55 innings in the majors and finally has an opportunity to play in the majors this year. With the Mets only having one other lefty in the bullpen currently (Brooks Raley, who has reverse splits), Kolarek should continue to get opportunities, especially against left-handed hitting. The lefty can’t hit free agency until after the 2025 season, and he could be a nice piece for the Mets’ bullpen as they look to get back into contention next year.
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