Andre Kinder - A little bit different

When Andre Kinder is warming up in the bullpen, everybody knows it. His funky, fall-off-the-mound sidearm delivery and cartoonish movement on his pitches are hard to miss. "You have to either throw really hard or you have to be a little bit different to make it," says Aaron Fultz, the Crosscutters' pitching coach.

Kinder only throws about 86 miles per hour, so he has to be different. His pitching style gives his pitches extra movement that many opposing hitters aren't used to.

From his tailing two-seamer, which has morphed into a sinker, to a looping slider that glides across the strike zone, to a change-up that Fultz calls a "big-league pitch", Kinder's style isn't just unique, but also effective. In two seasons of minor league baseball, opposing hitters have hit under .200 off of Kinder.

But for Kinder, turning himself into a side-winding lefty has been an exercise in finding a niche. He's always been an athlete, but was never sure exactly what kind. In high school, Kinder was a star combo-guard on the hardwood and a playmaker on the gridiron. In junior college, he was an outfielder who hit .475 and stole over forty bases.

"I would never tell him this," admits Fultz, "but he's probably the best athlete on the whole staff."

One afternoon earlier in the season, the pitchers took batting practice for fun. Kinder slugged two home runs. He also claims to still have the wheels, "I'm an athlete. I still have some speed, some agility. I would look forward to getting on the basepaths if they ever asked me to."

Kinder was a two-way player all through college, but it wasn't until he played summer ball in 2010 for the Okotoks Dawgs in Alberta, Canada, that he discovered his niche. "Guys were messing around throwing sidearm so I decided to give it a try," Kinder says, "And it felt great! My arm felt a lot more fluid. It's hardly ever sore and I get a lot more movement on the ball."

Aaron Fultz is also a great mentor for Kinder. As an eight-year big leaguer with five organizations, the southpaw himself was different from most. "I was a lefty with kind of a funky delivery," Fultz claims, "so I know that if he can be aggressive on left-handed hitters, he can move up fairly quick."

And Kinder soaks it all in, "Fultz has been through it all. He's been through the minors. He's made it to the show. I just listen to him as much as I can."

Kinder also understands what his role is within the Phillies script. He was a 42nd round pick. He isn't being groomed into stardom. He's not auditioning for the lead role. Kinder is a bit actor, a role player.

"I definitely know that I'll be a lefty specialist going through the minors," he acknowledges, "I'm just looking to get lefties out and I think I'm doing a pretty good job at it so far." Indeed, Kinder's ERA against lefties is a stifling 1.93, which is among the best on the team.

Still, it's an uphill climb for Kinder. "He wasn't a high draft pick, so he's going to have to produce. Probably even more so than some other guys," Fultz says.

But the good news for Kinder, after college in Nebraska, summer ball in Canada and his first pro stint in Florida, he's back home in the New York-Penn League. Kinder grew up in Albion, New York, halfway between Rochester and Buffalo. When the Crosscutters travel to Batavia, Kinder will play at Dwyer Stadium, which was his home field for two years at Genessee Community College.

That affords Kinder some added family support. "It's great. When I was in Nebraska, they only were able to come for one game, and they've already been to a few games up here."

Kinder is an older guy on the staff, which gives him less time to develop. But for a player still figuring out a new pitching style, the end goal is simple, Kinder states in a confident, yet soft-spoken tone, "Throwing strikes and getting groundballs. Getting lefties out."

"And that will all just come with repetition," says Fultz.