Kenley Jansen

Kenley Jansen
Jansen with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017
Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 74
Relief Pitcher
Born: (1987-09-30) September 30, 1987
Willemstad, Curaçao
Bats: Switch Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 24, 2010, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
(through 2018 season)
Win–loss record 25–18
Earned run average 2.20
Strikeouts 823
Saves 268
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Kenley Geronimo Jansen (born September 30, 1987) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has played for the Dodgers since his MLB debut in 2010. He appeared in the MLB All-Star Game in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Early life

Jansen was born in Willemstad, Curaçao,[1] the youngest of three sons of Isidor Jansen and Bernadette Jansen.[2] His father worked in construction until suffering a stroke when Kenley was 12; his mother is a travel agent.[2] Jansen began playing baseball at the age of six, alongside his brothers. He began as an outfielder before moving to shortstop. Jansen then met Andrelton Simmons, and was shifted to third base. Jansen later played first base and catcher.[3]

Baseball career

Minor leagues

Jansen was signed as an undrafted free agent catcher by the Dodgers orginazation on November 17, 2004,[4] and was assigned to the Rookie Class Gulf Coast Dodgers, where he played in 37 games and hit .304[1] before being promoted to the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League on August 26.[5] He had two hits in 11 at-bats in three games for Ogden.[1] He was back with the Gulf Coast team the following season, hitting .245 in 35 games.[1] After the season he played for the North Shore Honu in the Hawaii Winter Baseball League, where he hit .121 in nine games.[5]

Jansen batting for the Great Lakes Loons in 2008

Jansen split 2007 between the Raptors and the Class-A Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League, hitting .207 in 73 games.[1] After the season, he again played in Hawaii Winter Baseball, this time for the West Oahu CaneFires[6] In 2008 with the Loons, he hit .227 and 9 home runs in 79 games.[1] He was selected to the mid-season Midwest League All-Star game.[7]

In 2009, he was the starting catcher for the Netherlands team in the World Baseball Classic. In the Netherlands' upset of the favored Dominican Republic team, Jansen threw out Willy Taveras on an attempted steal of third base in the ninth inning, a key play in the game.[8] He began 2009 with the Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino, but hit just .202 in 38 games.[1] Despite that, he appeared in eight games for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, but had just five hits in 27 at-bats.[1]

The Dodgers convinced Jansen that he had no future at catcher because of his poor offensive numbers and that he should switch to pitching. Under the tutelage of former major leaguer Charlie Hough, he made the conversion in the second half of the 2009 season at Inland Empire.[9] He pitched 11 ​2⁄3 innings for the 66ers, allowing six earned runs.[1] He continued the conversion in the Arizona Fall League for the Peoria Javelinas.[1]

Jansen was added to the Dodgers 40-man roster on November 19, 2009.[10] He started with Inland Empire again and allowed only five runs in 18 innings while striking out 28 batters.[1] On May 15, 2010, he was promoted to the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, where he was selected to the mid-season Southern League all-star game.[11] He pitched 27 innings in 22 games for the Lookouts, with a 1.67 ERA.[1]

Los Angeles Dodgers

2010

On July 23, 2010, Jansen was promoted to the Dodgers.[12] He made his Major League debut in relief on July 24 against the New York Mets, where he pitched a scoreless inning, retiring all three batters he faced and striking out two.[13] The very next day on July 25, he recorded his first Major League save, when he pitched a 1-2-3 inning against the Mets.[14]

On August 26, 2010, Jansen walked and scored a run in his first Major League plate appearance at Miller Park in Milwaukee against Yovani Gallardo of the Brewers[15] and collected his first major league hit on August 31, 2010, at Dodger Stadium. The hit was a single up the middle against Kyle Kendrick of the Philadelphia Phillies.[16] Jansen recorded his first win against the Houston Astros on September 11 in Minute Maid Park.[17] He appeared in 25 games with the Dodgers in 2010, working 27 innings with a 1–0 record and a 0.67 ERA. He also saved four games in 2010.[4]

2011

In 2011 Jansen became a key member of the Dodgers bullpen. He was 2–1 with a 2.85 ERA in ​53 2⁄3 innings and saved 5 games.[4] He also struck out 96 batters, setting a new Major League season record with ​16 1⁄3 strikeouts per nine innings.[18]

2012

In May 2012, Jansen became the Dodgers closer after Javy Guerra struggled in the role.[19] At the end of the season, after missing some time due to heart problems, Jansen was replaced as closer by Brandon League.[20] He appeared in 65 games with a 5–3 record, 2.35 ERA, 99 strikeouts and 25 saves.[4]

2013

Jansen with the 2013 Los Angeles Dodgers

Jansen was a late addition to the Netherlands national baseball team for the 2013 World Baseball Classic, as he was added to the roster for the semi-finals but did not appear in the game.[21]

Jansen began 2013 as the setup man in the bullpen but resumed the role as closer when League struggled.[22] He was in 75 games with a 4-3 record, 1.88 ERA and 28 saves.[4] He did not allow any runs, in three appearances in the 2013 National League Division Series (NLDS) against the Atlanta Braves[23] but was less effective in the Championship Series (NLCS) against the Cardinals, allowing two runs in two innings.[24]

2014

On February 11, 2014, he avoided his first arbitration hearing by signing a $4.3 million contract with the Dodgers.[25] Fully established as the Dodgers closer in 2014, Jansen worked in 68 games with a 2.76 ERA, 101 strikeouts and 44 saves.[4] He became just the fourth Dodger pitcher in history with 40+ saves in a season, joining Éric Gagné (who did it three times), Todd Worrell and Jeff Shaw.[26] He only pitched one inning in the NLDS against the Cardinals.[27]

2015

On January 16, 2015, he again avoided arbitration by signing a one-year $7.425 million contract with the Dodgers.[28] However, on February 17, he underwent surgery to remove a growth from a bone in his left foot. The recovery time kept him out of action until May.[29] Jansen was eventually activated off the disabled list on May 15 and rejoined the Dodgers roster.[30] Jansen struck out 23 batters in his first 14 games of the season, without giving up a single walk. This broke Jay Howell's team records (set in the 1991 season) of 13 games without a walk to start a season and 20 strikeouts without a walk to start a season.[31] He wound up striking out 27 before he finally walked a batter on June 30, eight shy of the major league record.[32] He made 54 appearances for the team in 2015 with a 2.41 ERA and 36 saves. He also struck out 80 batters, while only walking 8 all season.[33] He became the first Dodgers pitcher with five seasons of 80 or more strikeouts in relief.[34] In his final year of arbitration, Jansen signed a one-year, $10.65 million, contract with the Dodgers on January 15, 2016.[35]

2016

On June 20, 2016, Jansen picked up his 162nd career save against the Washington Nationals, breaking the all-time franchise record held by Éric Gagné.[36] He was also selected to the National League team for the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, his first all-star selection.[37] On August 24, 2016, Jansen tied Jim Brewer's franchise record for strikeouts by a reliever with the 604th of his career.[38] In 71 games, he was 3–2 with a 1.83 ERA and 47 saves, earning him the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award.[39]

2017

Jansen pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017

On January 10, 2017, the Dodgers announced the re-signing of Jansen to a five-year, $80 million contract.[40] On June 11, he recorded his 200th career save against the Cincinnati Reds.[41]

On June 2, 2017, Jansen recorded his 36th strikeout of the season, setting an MLB season record for most strikeouts without giving up a walk.[42] The previous record was held by St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright, who struck out 35 batters before giving up a walk in the 2013 season.[43] The streak eventually reached 51 strikeouts before he recorded his first walk of the season on June 25 against the Colorado Rockies.[44] He was named to his second straight all-star game.[45] Jansen pitched in 65 games for the Dodgers in 2017, with five wins, a 1.32 ERA, 109 strikeouts (with only seven walks) and 41 saves.[4] For the second straight year, he was awarded with the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award.[46]

Jansen started the playoffs by finishing all three games of the Dodgers 2017 NLDS sweep of the Diamondbacks. He saved two of the games and did not allow an earned run in 3​2⁄3 innings.[4] He pitched 4​1⁄3 innings over four games in the 2017 NLCS against the Cubs and did not allow a batter to reach base, while striking out eight.[4] Jansen allowed two runs to score, including a solo homer by Marwin González in Game Two of the 2017 World Series against the Houston Astros. It was his first blown save in the post-season and snapped his MLB record of converting his first 12 post-season save opportunities.[47] In Game Five of the series, he picked up the loss in the Dodgers 10 inning defeat. In his second inning of work, he hit Brian McCann with two outs and then after a walk, he gave up a walk-off single to Alex Bregman.[48] Overall, he pitched 8​2⁄3 innings over six games, with two saves and three runs allowed as the Dodgers lost the series in seven games.[4]

2018

Jansen was selected to his third straight all-star game in 2018.[49]

Pitching style

Jansen relies almost exclusively on a cut fastball topping out at 98 mph, making his much faster than Mariano Rivera.[50] In 2012, he used this pitch about 93% of the time. His other main pitch is a slider in the low 80s. He experimented with a changeup in the 2009–2011 seasons and debuted a four-seam fastball at the end of the 2012 season.[51] Jansen relies both on movement and exceptional command, throwing over 70% strikes.

Jansen has recorded extremely high strikeout rates, garnering 14.6 strikeouts per 9 innings through the 2012 season. This is the second-highest total in history among pitchers who have thrown at least 140 innings (behind only Craig Kimbrel).[52]

Health issues

Jansen was diagnosed in 2011 with an irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrillation) and he missed some time that season while he was placed on blood thinners to correct the problem. However, the problem resurfaced late in the 2012 season and he again missed considerable time while being treated.[53][54] On October 24, 2012, Jansen underwent a three-hour procedure in which a surgeon identified abnormal tissue in his left atrium that was generating abnormal electrical signals and cauterized it.[55]

Jansen suffered a recurrence of his irregular heartbeat on August 9, 2018 prior to a game in Denver and underwent medical testing, with the team reporting that he would likely miss a month of the season.[56]

Personal life

Jansen lives with his parents in Curaçao during the offseason, and they live with him in Los Angeles when they visit him during the season.[2] Jansen has a daughter who was born on March 16, 2013, Natalia Hannah Jansen and two sons Kaden Isaiah Jansen born on August 16, 2015 and Kyrian Jeremiah Jansen, born on August 22, 2018. Despite the fact that he throws right-handed, he writes with his left hand.[57]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Kenley Jansen minor league statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Plaschke, Bill (September 11, 2013). "No man is an island, especially Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  3. ↑ Rivera, Marly (June 25, 2017). "Kenley Jansen changed countries -- then changed positions". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Kenley Jansen Stats". Baseball Reference.
  5. 1 2 "Kenley Jansen bio". MLB.com.
  6. ↑ Wehofer, Randy (September 27, 2007). "Gabella Led Canefires Open Saturday". milb.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  7. ↑ McFarland, Jodi (June 17, 2008). "Rosters and bios for the 44th Midwest League All-Star Game at Dow Diamond in Midland". mlive.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  8. ↑ McFarland, Jodi (March 7, 2009). "Kenley Jansen plays a big role in the Netherlands' upset of the Dominican Republic". Mlive.com. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  9. ↑ Kepner, Tyler (October 18, 2016). "Hoe Kenley Jansen went from Minor League Catcher to Major League Closer". New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  10. ↑ Haft, Chris (November 19, 2009). "Dodgers add three to 40-man roster". MLB.com. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  11. ↑ Zucosky, Griffin (June 30, 2010). "Southern League reveals 2010 All-Stars". milb.com. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  12. ↑ Hernandez, Dylan (July 23, 2010). "Dodgers call up Kenley Jansen; designate Justin Miller for assignment". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  13. ↑ "July 24, 2010 New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers play-by-play and box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  14. ↑ "July 25, 2010 New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers play-by-play and box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  15. ↑ "August 26, 2010 Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee Brewers play-by-play and box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  16. ↑ "August 31, 2010 Philadelphia Phillis at Los Angeles Dodgers play-by-play and box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  17. ↑ "September 11, 2010 Los Angeles Dodgers at Houston Astros". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Jansen struck out hitters at record pace in '11". Losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  19. ↑ Hernandez, Dylan (May 7, 2012). "Kenley Jansen replacing Javy Guerra as Dodgers closer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  20. ↑ Dilbeck, Steve (September 30, 2012). "Brandon League, the Dodgers' unexpected closer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  21. ↑ "RHP Kenley Jansen added to Netherlands World Baseball Classic Roster". Mister Baseball. March 13, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  22. ↑ Dilbeck, Steve (June 11, 2013). "Kenley Jansen replaces Brandon League as Dodgers closer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  23. ↑ "2013 NL Division Series (3-1): Los Angeles Dodgers (92-70) over Atlanta Braves (96-66)". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  24. ↑ "2013 NLCS (4-2): St. Louis Cardinals (97-65) over Los Angeles Dodgers (92-70)". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  25. ↑ Gurnick, Ken (February 11, 2014). "Jansen, Dodgers reach $4.3 million deal". MLB.com. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  26. ↑ Dilbeck, Steve (September 6, 2014). "Dodgers' Kenley Jansen has emerged as one of baseball's best closers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  27. ↑ "2014 NL Division Series (3-1): St. Louis Cardinals (90-72) over Los Angeles Dodgers (94-68)". Baseball Reference. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  28. ↑ Stephen, Eric (January 16, 2015). "Kenley Jansen, Dodgers avoid arbitration with $7.425 contract". truebluela.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  29. ↑ Weisman, Jon (February 17, 2015). "Kenley Jansen expected to miss 8-12 weeks after foot surgery". Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  30. ↑ Hernandez, Dylan (May 15, 2015). "Dodgers reinstate Kenley Jansen from disabled list". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  31. ↑ Stephen, Eric (June 25, 2015). "Stingy Kenley Jansen off to great start". SB Nation. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  32. ↑ Stephen, Eric (June 30, 2015). "Howie Kendrick, Yasmani Grandal do extra in Dodgers win". SB Nation. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  33. ↑ "2015 Los Angeles Dodgers Batting, Pitching, & Fielding Statistic". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  34. ↑ Stephen, Eric (October 3, 2015). "Dodgers postgame notes: Zack Greinke, Kenley Jansen, Yasiel Puig, home field advantage". SB Nation. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  35. ↑ Hernandez, Dylan (January 15, 2016). "Dodgers avoid salary arbitration with Kenley Jansen". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  36. ↑ McCullough, Andy (June 20, 2016). "Kenley Jansen sets Dodgers' saves record in 4-1 win". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  37. ↑ Weisman, Jon (July 5, 2016). "Jansen, Kershaw, Seager named to NL All-Star team". Dodgers.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  38. ↑ Baer, Jack and Chris Haft (August 25, 2016). "Hill outduels Cueto in Dodgers debut". mlb.com. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  39. ↑ Plunkett, Bill (October 29, 2016). "Dodgers' Kenley Jansen wins award as NL's top reliever". Orange County Register. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  40. ↑ Gurnick, Ken. "Jansen officially returns to Dodgers on 5-year pact". MLB.com. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  41. ↑ Shaikin, Bill (June 11, 2017). "Corey Seager hits first career grand slam in Dodgers' 9-7 win over Reds". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  42. ↑ McCalvy, Adam; Gurnick, Ken. "Wonder whiff-men: Dodgers, Crew fan 42". MLB.com. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  43. ↑ Plunkett, Bill (8 June 2017). "Dodgers and Kenley Jansen embracing broad interpretation of closer role". The Orange County Register. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  44. ↑ Axisa, Mike (June 25, 2017). "After 112 batters and 51 strikeouts, Dodgers' Jansen issues first walk of 2017". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  45. ↑ Stephen, Eric (July 2, 2017). "All-Star Game rosters 2017: Dodgers send 4 players to Miami". SB Nation. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
  46. ↑ Stephen, Eric (October 28, 2017). "Kenley Jansen wins Trevor Hoffman Award as NL reliever of the year". Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  47. ↑ Gurnick, Ken (October 26, 2017). "Resilient Dodgers putting loss behind them". mlb.com. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  48. ↑ "2017 World Series Game 5, Dodgers at Astros, October 29". Baseball Reference. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  49. ↑ Williams, James H. (July 8, 2018). "2018 MLB All-Star Game Rosters: Dodgers' Matt Kemp, Angel's Mike Trout named". OC Register. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  50. ↑ Newport, Kyle (August 6, 2014). "Dodgers Closer Kenley Jansen Unbelievably Threw a 98 Mph Cutter". Bleacher Report. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  51. ↑ "Brooks Baseball · Home of the PitchFX Tool - Player Card: Kenley Jansen". Brooks Baseball. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  52. ↑ "Major League Leaderboards » 2012 » Pitchers » Dashboard". Fangraphs. Retrieved November 28, 2012.
  53. ↑ "Recurrence of heart condition sidelines Jansen". Losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  54. ↑ "Jansen excited for first action since heart trouble". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  55. ↑ "Kenley Jansen of Los Angeles Dodgers undergoes heart procedure - ESPN Los Angeles". Espn.go.com. October 23, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  56. ↑ Rogers, Anne (August 10, 2018). "Kenley Jansen to be sidelined about a month". mlb.com. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  57. ↑ Hernandez, Dylan (April 8, 2013). "Dodgers' Kenley Jansen has a healthy outlook". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
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