The Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball announced this week that they’ve signed former Giants right-hander Sean Hjelle. He had elected minor league free agency at the beginning of the offseason.
Hjelle was a second-round pick out of the University of Kentucky in 2018. It’s fitting that he landed with San Francisco, as the 6’11” hurler is listed alongside Jon Rauch as the tallest players in MLB history. Hjelle’s long limbs get him good extension down the mound, albeit not quite at the level one might expect. The downhill angle leads him to generally work 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 has gotten ground-balls at a lofty 56% rate over parts of four big league seasons. He hasn’t missed many bats, and the Giants moved him into a long relief role after the 2023 season. Hjelle soaked up 80 2/3 innings of 3.90 ERA ball two seasons ago but wasn’t much of a factor last year. He only made 12 big league appearances, giving up 13 runs across 15 innings. The Giants designated him for assignment around the trade deadline and sent him outright to Triple-A when he cleared waivers.
Hjelle pitched well in the minors over the course of the season. He tossed 67 2/3 frames, turning in a 3.06 ERA in the Pacific Coast League. He struck out nearly a quarter of opponents with a 55% ground-ball percentage while limiting his walks to a tidy 5.6% clip. Rather than settling for a minor league deal with a Spring Training invitation, he’ll lock in a stronger guarantee in his first move to an Asian league. Hjelle could build back as a starting pitcher in Japan.
