The curious case of Jack Kochanowicz: an ace in the making or another failed story?

It’s been a mixed bag of results so far for Jack Kochanowicz. We’ve seen flashes of brilliance, moments of inconsistency, and stretches where things have simply looked ugly. On paper, Jack is the ideal pitching prospect. He’s got the size, a fastball that can touch the mid-to-upper 90s, and an overall arsenal that screams potential. He looks every bit the prototype of a modern starter. So why haven’t we seen that translate into consistent success?

Is this just the beginning of another failed development arc? We’ve seen this movie before—Detmers, Canning, and now possibly Jack. But maybe it’s not just one glaring issue. Maybe it’s death by a thousand cuts: a combination of inconsistent development, unclear game plans, and subpar pitch execution. what can it be changed?

A perfect comparison can be found in Seattle’s Bryan Woo. According to Baseball Savant, Woo and Kochanowicz have eerily similar pitch movement and profiles. Yet while Woo has solidified himself as a dependable number two or three starter, Kochanowicz is sitting with an ERA north of five. So what’s the difference?

It might come down to pitch selection. Woo relies heavily on his four-seam fastball, throwing it 45.7% of the time, while using his sinker around 25%. Kochanowicz flips that script—he throws his sinker nearly 50% of the time and only uses his four-seamer 23.7%. Both have fastballs that hitters struggle to square up, but one uses it as a weapon while the other relegates it to a secondary option. My suggestion? For just one month, flip the usage. Let Jack lean on the four-seamer as his primary pitch and cut back on the sinker. I genuinely believe he’ll find more success. Will the Angels organization make that adjustment? Given their recent track record with pitching development, it’s unlikely—but not impossible.