Joel Kenneth Kuhnel (born February 19, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Joel Kuhnel | |
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![]() Kuhnel with the Dayton Dragons in 2017 | |
Cincinnati Reds – No. 66 | |
Pitcher | |
Born: (1995-02-19) February 19, 1995 (age 27) Goldsboro, North Carolina | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
MLB debut | |
August 16, 2019, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
MLB statistics (through 2022 season) | |
Win–loss record | 4–3 |
Earned run average | 6.11 |
Strikeouts | 68 |
Teams | |
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Kuhnel attended Sunrise Mountain High School in Peoria, Arizona. Undrafted in the 2013 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at Central Arizona College where he played college baseball.
As a freshman at Central Arizona in 2014, Kuhnel pitched to a 2–0 record with a 1.62 ERA over 39 innings. After the season, he transferred to the University of Texas at Arlington. In 2015, his first season with UTA, he went 4–4 with a 3.55 ERA over 16 games (12 starts).[1] As a junior in 2016, Kuhnel compiled a 6–4 record with a 2.99 ERA across 12 starts.[2] After the year, he was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 11th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.[3]
Kuhnel signed with the Reds and made his professional debut with the Billings Mustangs, pitching to a 0–1 record and a 3.43 ERA over 18 relief appearances.[4] In 2017, he pitched with the Dayton Dragons and compiled a 2–4 record, a 4.36 ERA, and 54 strikeouts over 64 relief innings pitched, and in 2018, he played for the Daytona Tortugas, with whom he was named a Florida State League All-Star,[5] going 1–4 with a 3.04 ERA in 44 games pitched out of the bullpen.[6] Kuhnel began 2019 with the Chattanooga Lookouts, earning Southern League All-Star honors, and was promoted to the Louisville Bats in June.[7] Over 41 relief appearances between the two teams, he went 5-3 with a 2.18 ERA and fifty strikeouts over 53+2⁄3 innings.[8]
On August 15, 2019, the Reds selected Kuhnel's contract and promoted him to the major leagues.[9] He made his major league debut on August 16 versus the St. Louis Cardinals.[10] He pitched a total of 9+2⁄3 innings for the Reds in 2019, going 1-0 with a 4.66 ERA and nine strikeouts.[11] In 2020, Kuhnel pitched to a 6.00 ERA over three games and three innings pitched. On October 26, 2020, he was outrighted off of the 40-man roster.[12] He spent all of 2021 in the minor leagues, but missed a majority of the season while dealing with a shoulder injury, and pitched only eight innings throughout the course of the year.[13]