February 6, 2020, Bridgewater, NJ- The Somerset Patriots have signed left-handed pitcher Gunnar Kines for the 2020 season. 

 

Kines enters his first season with the Somerset Patriots and first in the Atlantic League. The 6’3 southpaw has spent the majority of each of the last four seasons with the Schaumburg Boomers (Frontier League) and ranks as the franchise’s all-time strikeouts leader. There, Kines compiled a 22-17 record with a 2.95 ERA and 350 strikeouts over 350.1 innings of work across 58 starts. This includes three seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA and a 2017 season in which he went 5-1 with a 1.31 ERA across seven starts. 

 

The Conway, South Carolina native enjoyed a notable 2019 season with the Boomers. Kines went 6-6 across 17 starts with a 2.36 ERA and 112 strikeouts against 20 walks over 103.0 innings of work. His ERA ranked fourth in the Frontier League amongst qualified pitchers, while the walks ranked fifth amongst qualified pitchers and the strikeouts ranked eighth. Additionally, Kines allowed more than two earned runs in only two of his 17 starts, worked less than six innings in only three of his 17 starts and finished the season with 13-straight starts with two earned runs allowed or less. 

 

“Gunnar has put together some stellar years in the Frontier League and we are anxious to get him into camp to get our eyes on him,” said Somerset Patriots manager Brett Jodie. “Gunnar will compete for a spot in our starting rotation. I think his stuff will translate well into our league and we expect some big things out of Kines this year. Gunnar attacks hitters by pounding the zone and allowing his defense to play behind him.”

 

Kines was originally a 36th-round draft pick of the Miami Marlins out of Mount Olive College in 2015. The lefty spent one season in the Marlins organization before he joined Schaumburg. After an impressive start to his 2017 season in Schaumburg, Kines had his contract purchased by the New York Mets organization and was assigned to Short-Season Brooklyn. He posted a 2-2 record with a 3.00 ERA across seven appearances (three starts) with the Cyclones before rejoining the Boomers in 2018. 

 

The 26-year old enjoyed a notable collegiate career including stops at Florence-Darlington Tech Community College and the University of Mount Olive. He is currently competing for a championship in the Australian Baseball League where he owns a 3-2 record with a 1.50 ERA over nine starts for the Adelaide Giants.

 

The Somerset Patriots will be back in action on Friday, May 1st for Opening Day at TD Bank Ballpark. Stay up to date on all the team news throughout the offseason online; on all of our social media platforms, and on our mobile app. For more information, visit www.somersetpatriots.com.