Brandon Kintzler

Brandon Kintzler - Quick Facts

Profile Overview of Brandon Kintzler

Brandon Lee Kintzler (born August 1, 1984) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, and Philadelphia Phillies.

This profile of Brandon Kintzler covers Early Life and Family Background, Minor league system (2004–2005), Independent leagues (2007–2009), Milwaukee Brewers (2010–2015) and Minnesota Twins (2016–2017).

Kintzler was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, and began playing baseball with a traveling youth team. After going undrafted out of Palo Verde High School, he spent one year apiece at Pasadena City College and Dixie State College, leading the latter to a national championship in 2004. The Padres selected Kintzler in the 40th round of the 2004 MLB draft, and he spent two years in the team's farm system before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury. Kintzler took one year off from baseball and moved back home to undergo shoulder surgery before he was recruited to the independent Winnipeg Goldeyes in 2007. Two years later, Kintzler requested a trade to the St. Paul Saints, believing it would give him a better opportunity to reach MLB.

The Brewers offered Kintzler a contract in 2009 after watching him pitch at the American Association All-Star Game for the Saints, and he made his MLB debut in September 2010. Kintzler's five-season tenure with the Brewers was hindered by injury, first a stress fracture in his elbow in 2011, followed by a patellar tendon rupture in 2014, and he became a free agent at the conclusion of the 2015 season. Kintzler accepted a minor league contract with the Twins that December, and became the team's closer in 2016 after the departure of Kevin Jepsen. Kintzler continued to close for the team in 2017 after Glen Perkins experienced a shoulder injury, and he received an All-Star selection in 2017.

Kintzler joined the Nationals in 2017, where he served as the seventh-inning reliever before suffering a forearm flexor strain in June 2018. The Nationals traded him to the Cubs, and, after a disappointing 2018, he tweaked his pitching delivery and improved in 2019. Kintzler signed a one-year contract with the Marlins in 2020, and helped lead the team to the postseason by throwing shutout final innings in both Wild Card Games against the Cubs. In 2021, Kintzler signed a contract with the Phillies.

Kintzler is rated by baseball journalists to be the most successful 40th-round draft pick in MLB history. His signature pitch is a sinker that he developed after shoulder surgery limited the speed of his four-seam fastball.

Early Life and Family Background of Brandon Kintzler

Kintzler was born in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 1, 1984. At the age of four, his neighborhood bicycle stunts caught the attention of reporter Colin Cowherd. Between the ages of 10 and 12, Kintzler played for the Vegas Yard Dawgs, a traveling youth baseball team. He went on to play baseball at Palo Verde High School in Las Vegas.

Undrafted out of high school, Kintzler chose to attend Pasadena City College (PCC). In his one season with the PCC baseball team in 2003, he was an All-South Coast Conference first-team selection, with a 5–3 win–loss record and 3.83 earned run average (ERA) in 106 innings pitched. Also, he pitched two complete game shutouts and led the team in strikeouts, with 72. The following year, he attended Dixie State College, where he posted a 9–1 record and 2.30 ERA in 12 starts, and helped led the team to the 2004 NJCAA National Baseball Championship. In 2015, Dixie State inducted Kintzler into their Athletic Hall of Fame and retired his No. 3 jersey.

Minor league system (2004–2005) of Brandon Kintzler

Kintzler was selected twice in a row in the 40th round of the Major League Baseball draft. He was first chosen by the New York Yankees in 2003, but chose not to sign. The next year, he was selected by the San Diego Padres. He spent parts of the 2004 and 2005 seasons with the Class A-Short Season Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest League, and also made appearances with the Rookie Arizona League Padres and the Class A Fort Wayne Wizards. Kintzler suffered a torn glenoid labrum in the 2005 season, and the Padres released him at the end of spring training in 2006. Rather than pitch that year, Kintzler instead moved back to Las Vegas, received shoulder surgery, and worked at Cold Stone Creamery, which he joked, "ives you a strong wrist".

Independent leagues (2007–2009)

In 2007, Kintzler signed with the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the independent Northern League. Goldeyes manager Rick Forney recruited Kintzler after "look up his numbers on Baseball Reference just like everyone else". The shoulder surgery limited his four-seam fastball to 86 mph (138 km/h), and Kintzler worked with Greg Maddux to develop a two-seam sinker. In his first season, Kintzler pitched to a 5–2 record and 4.07 ERA in 77 innings. The next year, he asked the Goldeyes to use him as a starting pitcher rather than as a reliever. That season, Kintzler pitched 19 starts and 112+1⁄3 innings. In his two seasons with the Goldeyes, Kintzler posted a 4.41 ERA in 49 games.

In the offseason, Kintzler requested a trade to the St. Paul Saints of the American Association, believing that the team gave him a better chance of making the major leagues. While playing with the Saints in 2009, Kintzler was offered the role of former Oakland Athletics pitcher Tim Hudson in the film Moneyball. He turned down the role to start the American Association All-Star Game, where he struck out five of six batters he faced.

Milwaukee Brewers (2010–2015)

Kintzler signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers on July 24, 2009, the day after his All-Star appearance. Brewers scout Tim Collinsworth had attended the game, and told the Brewers, "I got a pitcher here who can go right to Class AA." Kintzler spent the remainder of the 2009 season with the Double-A Huntsville Stars, pitching to a 1–2 record and 4.54 ERA in nine appearances. Beginning 2010 with Huntsville as well, he went 1–0 with a 0.40 ERA in 20 appearances and converting all 10 save opportunities. That June, Kintzler was promoted to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, with whom he went 3–0 with a 2.36 ERA in 22 games. After being promoted to the Brewers as a September call-up, Kintzler made his major league debut on September 10, 2010, pitching 1+1⁄3 innings in a 4–0 loss to the Chicago Cubs. In seven appearances and 7+1⁄3 innings with the Brewers that year, Kintzler posted a 0–1 record and 7.36 ERA.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Kintzler), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.