Kyle Lotzkar was coming into 2011 healthy for the first time since 2008 when he first began running into injury problems. Then about two weeks into spring training he suffered an injury and would be out for the next 3 months before making his debut with the Dayton Dragons on June 14th.
Lotzkar had a short first start, but it was a solid one as he went 4 innings with 2 earned runs, 8 strikeouts and 2 walks. He made four starts on the month, throwing 20.2 innings and posting a 5.66 ERA. His ERA was not too indicative of his peripherals though, as he allowed just 3 HR’s and 7 walks to go along with 20 strikeouts on the month.
In July, the results were similar in fashion as in June. Lotzkar had an ERA of 5.79 on the month, but he has a WHIP of 0.93 with 4 walks and 16 strikeouts in 14 innings while allowing just 1 home run. During his third start of the month Lotzkar would leave the game with a strained hamstring and would miss the next 2 1/2 weeks before making his next start.
Lotzkar returned from the disabled list on August 4th and had a strong return as he struck out 8 batters in 4 shutout innings without a walk and just two hits allowed. That first start back set the tone for the month as he would throw 27 innings with a 2.00 ERA on the month with 10 walks and 29 strikeouts. He was also able to rack up an incredible, and very unlike himself, 62% groundball rate (24 and 26% rates in the previous two months).
For as good as the month of August was, the two starts Lotzkar made in September were not. He made his final regular season start on the 4th and fave up 4 earned runs in 5 innings with 7 strikeouts and 4 walks. He would take the mound again six days later in the playoffs and allowed 3 earned runs in 5 innings with 5 walks and 6 strikeouts in what would be the Dragons final game of the year.
Overall Thoughts
Kyle Lotzkar is one of the Reds premiere arms and they felt so strongly about him that despite his injury history and never throwing a pitch above Low-A that they added him to the 40 man roster in the offseason to protect him from a potential Rule 5 draft pick. With new mechanics to his name that should help keep him healthier than his old ones could have ever dreamed of, the largest thing that Lotkzar will need moving forward is experience and innings. There is always going to be a concern with injury because of what his right arm has been through, but if he can stay healthy, he has the stuff to be a quality starter in the Major Leagues if he can continue to develop at a normal pace.
Stats
| W | L | ERA | IP | H | HR | BB | SO | WHIP | BB% | K% | SO/BB |
| 3 | 2 | 4.32 | 66.2 | 51 | 8 | 25 | 72 | 1.14 | 8.8% | 25.4% | 2.88 |
Video
Video from ProjectProspect.com