How Alex Kranzler Became the Most Reliable Pitcher in Vanderbilt Baseball’s Bullpen

When Vanderbilt pitcher Alex Kranzler walked out onto the mound in the top of the fifth inning at Hoover Met Stadium Tuesday afternoon, he had one job. All he had to do in relief of starting pitcher Connor Fennell was to just do what he could to keep Vanderbilt as close as it could against Kentucky.

Kranzler got the Commodores out of a two-out jam with a runner on second base with his team down 4-1.

But that was just the beginning of Kranzler’s outing as he helped usher in a Vanderbilt comeback in a game where it scored seven unanswered runs to move onto the second round of the SEC Baseball Tournament.

After getting out of the fifth inning, Kranzler retired 10 more batters consecutively before allowing his first baserunner with one out in the top of the ninth inning. That is 3.2 innings that Kranzler pitched before he allowed one guy to reach base.

“Kranzler has pitched really well. He’s really efficient with balls and strikes. He hasn’t put a lot of baserunners on, so he’s confident. He’s starting to get into the flow,” Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin told the SEC Network desk postgame.

Corbin also made sure to note postgame that May has the month in Kranzler’s career where he takes his game to the next level. Statistically speaking, that could not be more correct. In 14.2 innings pitched in the month of May, Kranzler has allowed one run in five appearances and only four hits.

The numbers Kranzler has accumulated to close the regular season and open the SEC Tournament is indicative of something important when it comes to this Vanderbilt team. What Kranzler has done going back to the end of April and start of May is provide stability to a Vanderbilt pitching staff that has had plenty of struggles throughout the season.

For the majority of the season, Vanderbilt’s pitching rotation and its bullpen felt like it was a game of russian roulette after Fennell had pitched during a game or series. It has been a roller coaster of pitching chaos, largely in part due to the amount of injuries Vanderbilt saw in its pitching staff.

But Kranzler has quickly emerged as the most reliable pitcher to come in relief and Tuesday’s win over Kentucky was a prime example of it.

Over the past few weeks, Kranzler has been working with Vanderbilt pitching coach Scott Brown on adjustments to his game. While some of that may be more mechanics-based, the biggest difference is how Kranzler has approached his outings mentally.

“The big, I guess, difference maker was stop focusing or worrying about stuff in the past, future -- just kind of be where you are and kind of just use that,” Kranzler said. “We have a kind of ongoing joke right now, like, even if I mentioned going out to eat the night before, he'll kind of get on me and say that's the past. So just trying to stay as present as possible has been the big one.”

Kranzler has started to step up at the right time from a mental side of things and from a technique side of things as well. As the downhill stretch of the season has arrived, so has Kranzler’s velocity. From the beginning of the season up until now, his fastball has gone up from 92 to 96 mph, which is something that Corbin has also noticed.

But from the dugout, Corbin has seen Kranzler’s development and what he has done for the Vanderbilt bullpen from a coaching perspective. The mental work that Kranzler has put in with his pitching coach has produced results that Corbin has been able to see himself.

“I think he's slowed himself down. I think that's the thing. I believe his rhythm to how he pitches, it looks easier. It doesn't look as forced. It doesn't look like grunt work. It's letting the ball do the work,” Corbin said.

The downside of having a guy like Kranzler that has been so reliable pitch in the first round of the tournament is that he likely will not see the mound in tomorrow’s game against Florida. Wednesday’s second round game is another must-win game if Vanderbilt wants to extend its regional streak. For now, though, Vanderbilt fans can breathe tonight knowing it has a pitcher playing his best ball at the right time.

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