Hjelle was a second-round pick out of the University of Kentucky in 2018. It’s fitting that he ended up with San Francisco, as the 6’11” pitcher is listed next Jon Rauch as the tallest players in MLB history. Hjelle’s long limbs allow him to run down the hill well, although not quite at the level you might expect. The slope angle means he generally works lower in the zone with a sinker, as he essentially doesn’t throw a four-seam fastball. He has used a sinker, knuckle curve and cutter as his three pitches at the MLB level.
The 28-year-old Hjelle shot an impressive 56% ground balls during parts of four big league seasons. He hasn’t missed many bats, and the Giants moved him to a long relief role after the 2023 season. Hjelle recorded 80 2/3 innings of 3.90 ERA ball two seasons ago, but didn’t play much of a role last year. He played only twelve games in the big league and gave up 13 runs in 15 innings. The Giants designated him for assignment around the trade deadline and sent him straight to Triple-A when he cleared waivers.
Hjelle pitched well in the minors all season. He threw 67 2/3 frames and posted a 3.06 ERA in the Pacific Coast League. He shut down nearly a quarter of opponents with a 55% groundball rate while limiting his walks to a decent 5.6% clip. Instead of settling for a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, he’ll get a stronger guarantee in his first move to an Asian league. Hjelle could rebuild as a starting pitcher in Japan.
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