Guido Knudson

GUIDO KNUDSON, RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
Born: August 5, 1989
Height: 6′ 1″
Weight: 185
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Drafted: 28th Round, 857th Overall, 2011 (Tigers)
How Acquired: Waiver claim (from Tigers)
College: University of California, San Diego
Agent: N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES
Knudson has been a reliever throughout his time in the minors.  His fastball was in the 92-95 range during his brief time in the majors and reportedly clocked in at 94-95 in the minors.  His main secondary pitch is a slider and he also throws a change.  As he’s advanced to the upper levels, he’s fanned a lot of hitters but also walked a lot.  He’s also been a flyball pitcher in AA and AAA, which is out of character for the Pirates.  They claimed him off waivers from the Tigers.

2011
R:  1-1-0, 2.74 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 23.0 IP, 1.6 BB/9, 8.6 K/9
A-:  0-1-0, 8.10 ERA, 2.10 WHIP, 3.1 IP, 8.1 BB/9, 2.7 K/9

Knudson pitched well in relief in rookie ball.  The Tigers moved him up to the NYPL for five games and he had control problems in brief action.

2012
A:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 0.0 K/9
A+:  0-1-0, 4.28 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 27.1 IP, 2.0 BB/9, 8.9 K/9

The Tigers assigned Knudson to the Florida State League at the end of May.  He pitched exclusively in relief and very sparingly, often going one to two weeks between outings.  He doesn’t seem to have had any significant injury.  Other than a terrible first outing in which he allowed eight hits and seven earned runs in two-thirds of an inning, he mostly pitched well.

2013
A:  1-2-0, 1.79 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 50.1 IP, 1.8 BB/9, 6.8 K/9

Detroit moved Knudson down to low A and he spent the season in the bullpen there.  He pitched very well, apart from a low K rate.  By then he was 23, which wasn’t good progress.

2014
A+:  2-1-5, 3.12 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 17.1 IP, 3.1 BB/9, 11.9 K/9
AA:  1-6-2, 4.26 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 61.1 IP, 3.8 BB/9, 9.7 K/9

Knudson opened the season in high A and pitched well through a dozen relief appearances, with a high K rate.  The Tigers promoted him to AA in mid-May and he had considerably more trouble, partly due to an increased walk rate.

2015
AA:  0-0-1, 3.12 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 17.1 IP, 4.2 BB/9, 8.3 K/9
AAA:  1-2-10, 2.34 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 42.1 IP, 4.5 BB/9, 9.4 K/9
MLB:  0-0-0, 18.00 ERA, 3.20 WHIP, 5.0 IP, 5.4 BB/9, 10.8 K/9

Knudson spent the first month of the season back in AA, where he walk rate climbed again.  The Tigers moved him up to AAA in early May and he was much more effective there despite another increase in his walk rate, as hitters batted only .189 against him.  Detroit added him to their roster and called him up in August, but he struggled badly through four appearances.

Knudson doesn’t appear to have a high ceiling and he’s not a groundball pitcher.  The Pirates released him in January to clear roster space, but signed him to a minor league contract a few days later.  He’ll serve as bullpen depth in the upper minors.
CONTRACT INFORMATION
2016: Minor league deal
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut: 2011
MLB Debut: 8/22/2015
MiLB FA Eligible: 2017
MLB FA Eligible: N/A
Rule 5 Eligible: Eligible
Added to 40-Man: 8/20/2015 (since removed)
Options Remaining: 2 (USED: 2015)
MLB Service Time: 0.015
TRANSACTIONS
June 8, 2011: Drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 28th round, 857th overall pick; signed on June 16.
August 20, 2015: Contract purchased by the Detroit Tigers.
November 9, 2015: Claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
January 5, 2016: Released by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
January 10, 2016: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a minor league free agent.