Kyle Backhus Setting Himself Up for MLB Debut in 2024
Kyle Backhus is having a terrific first MLB camp and Spring Training with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He's in as a Non-Roster Invitee, though there's a good chance that he will be on the 40-man roster by next year's Spring Training. The former Sam Houston State player is performing so well that it's now expected that he will make his MLB debut at some point in 2024. Backhus wasn't expected to make it this far after going undrafted in the 2021 MLB Draft. He was signed to an undrafted minor league deal on July 20th, 2021. On August 3rd, he was assigned by Arizona to the Single-A Visalia Rawhide. From there on, all he did was impress and climb level after level.
He reached Double-A by the end of the 2022 season, and he went 2-2 with three saves in 11 games at that level. He recorded an 11.48 K/9 and an elevated 5.40 BB/9 rate. Still, he worked to a 4.05 ERA and a 3.68 FIP in the ball-hopping atmosphere that is Amarillo. In 2023, he repeated Double-A and had an even better time there. He was named an Organization All-Star for his work in 2022. He performed even better in the Arizona Fall League in 2022.
Over 40 games there and 10 saves, Backhus pitched 55 innings and had a 3.76 ERA, 4.31 FIP, and xFIP of 4.11. He struck out 10.47 per nine and walked a lower 4.25 per nine. He had a strong GB% of 49.3%. Backhus struck out 64 in 55 innings against just six home runs and 56 hits. Those were great numbers for Amarillo and were enough to get him promoted to Triple-A.
In Triple-A, Kyle Backhus struggled to get the same amount of strikeouts but still performed quite well. Over 13.2 innings, he struck out 12 and allowed 11 hits, five runs, and six walks. The walk rate was his lowest since High-A, a good sign that he will soon be ready for MLB hitters.
His FIP of 4.46 was lower than most pitchers in Reno and his xFIP of 5.09 was fine, by Reno standards. The only concern was his strikeouts as he struck out just 21.1% of batters faced, far lower than his numbers at lower levels. However, the majority of his worse stats came about because he gave up four runs in 2/3 of an inning. Take that away and his numbers are insanely good.
Some will say that Kyle Backhus is a sidearmer, others say he is a submariner. Both are extremely rare for a left-handed pitcher to throw from. Ryan Thompson, a right-handed pitcher, is a classic example of a submariner. You often don't see a left-hander being able to do it. Kyle Backhus is the exception to the norm.
He classifies himself as a sidearmer. "It started early in college. My freshman year, I was pretty high 3/4s and I got moved to the pen. There, it was just drop down as low as you can get where it's comfortable and it just kind of grew on me...The arm slot just kind of came about."
"The arm slot doesn't make a difference to me of what I do and how I feel, it's just how my body is naturally made for it." Batters aren't used to facing left-handed sidearmers. This gives Backhus an advantage and makes it difficult for batters to pick up his velocity and pitches. His slider is especially hard to pick up.
"The arm slot and direction, I'm a little bit cross-fire. I think just being long and lanky, it kind of comes at you a little bit quicker. I know my velo isn't as high as everybody else's but it perceives to be higher... just cause of the look of it." He's 6'4 so the height plays a factor in it being hard to read the ball from his hand.
Those fears are so far being put to rest. Over his two innings and appearances in Spring Training, Backhus has struck out five batters and allowed no walks, hits, or batters to reach base. It's been an impressive Spring for the left-handed sidearmer. His FIP is somehow a -1.47.
This included a tough situation to be put into yesterday, during the Guardians-D-backs game when he came into the game with bases loaded, no outs, and the D-backs needing to not allow any runs. The sidearmer came in fearless.
He struck out the side in an impressive display, two looking and one swinging. He was relentless in attacking the strike zone. Hitters were not able to pick up his motion and movement from his pitches/arm slot.
Manager Torey Lovullo was quite pleased with this outing. "[He] didn't wince, he didn't blink. That's exactly what I'm looking for, bases loaded, nobody out, he barely threw any balls.....that's what you want a young pitcher to do when he comes into a game like that. Block out the noise and attack the zone. What does it say? It says he's got a good heartbeat. I want to see him do it again."
Kyle Backhus said of the outing that he felt good coming in and that "I've been thrown into it before in not only pro ball but college. I'm ready for that. I went in with the mindset of let's get the guy out in front of me. Just doing my job and helping the team the best I can."
Backhus has the mentality of attacking hitters constantly. He wants to be in the strike zone, something that the D-backs want from their pitchers. "That's my mentality every time, just throw strikes... Just be aggressive and have that feeling of not being afraid to crash and burn."
The Diamondbacks liking to churn and burn their bullpen with a multitude of roster changes over the regular season coupled with Backhus' performance so far, makes him a strong candidate to be called up at some point this season. This is especially true as the D-backs can't afford to let any relievers work through problems as the team is pushing to get back to the playoffs. If a reliever struggles and Backhus continues to perform, he will likely get the call.
Backhus spoke on how it feels to be so close to the Big Leagues and to have climbed the organization's depth chart. "It feels good...It's a childhood dream to be in this situation. So, I think every day I don't try to take things for granted. I look at it as another day, another opportunity. I'm really happy to be in this situation. I'm happy with the guys I'm around. I'm looking forward to the season."
Right now, Backhus is projected to start the season in Triple-A with the Reno Aces, but he should be on the shortlist to be called up, perhaps as one of the top two or three options.
Congratulations from Inside the Diamondbacks to Kyle Backhus on getting married this past November. Hopefully, the whole family and all of Chase Field will be able to celebrate and watch him on the mound at some point this season.
