Position: RHP
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 180 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Born: 08/03/1997
College: George Washington University
How Acquired: Draft 19th Round, 564th Overall, 2018
Bonus: N/A
40-man Roster: No
Rule 5 Eligible: Yes
Minor League Free Agency: 2024
Options Left: 3
Overview
Kobos was the Pirates’ obligatory annual pick out of George Washington. They’d previously drafted and signed Eddie Muhl, Kevin Mahala and Shane Kemp from 2015-17, none of whom lasted long. Kobos didn’t pitch much in his college career, working as a reliever in his last two years after missing the 2016 season with an injury. He threw 93.1 innings total. He was pitching in the upper 80s out of high school, but improved his velocity to sit 93-95 MPH. Despite control problems, he was a lights out reliever for George Washington, with a 1.35 ERA in 53 innings in 2018, along with a 49:35 K:BB ratio. As a pro, he’s shown a lot of ability to miss bats, but he’s struggled with injuries.
2018-20
In his debut, Kobos pitched mostly in relief for Bristol, although he also made three spot starts in which he threw only limited innings. For whatever reason, he was wildly less effective as a starter: Opponents had an OPS against him of 1.156 in the three starts and .555 in relief appearances. Overall, he had control issues, but also missed a lot of bats.
Kobos had an odd 2019 season. He stayed in extended spring training until West Virginia started play, then joined the Black Bears’ rotation. He struggled through five starts, with opponents batting .311 against him. The Pirates, however, moved him up to Greensboro and he was far more effective in seven starts, despite a sharp increase in his walk rate. His K rate also increased sharply and opponents batted just .144 against him. At the latter stop he pitched exactly five innings every time out, except for one game in which he threw four no-hit innings. He also had a five-inning, no-hit outing, as well as another in which he fanned ten. Despite the large disparities in ERAs—6.05 in the New York-Penn League and 2.12 for Greensboro—his xFIP was about the same. In fact, it was lower at West Virginia, 3.58 to 3.80. Kobos didn’t pitch in 2020.
2021-23
Kobos pitched mainly in short relief for Greensboro, which was now a high A instead of low A as it had been when he first pitched there. He had a strong season, with a 2.16 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. What trouble he had came mostly from walks, as opponents batted 130/251/233 against him and he had a K/9 of 14.7. In August he was nearly unhittable, allowing just two hits and three walks, and fanning 18 in 7.2 IP. Unfortunately, he went out with an unknown injury late in the month and did not return.
Kobos ran into injury trouble again in 2022 and 2023. He went to Altoona in late April. He continued to miss bats, with a K/9 of 11.3, but he also missed the strike zone nearly as much, walking over a batter an inning. In mid-June, Kobos went on the 60-day injured list with a hamstring injury. He returned in time to make five rehab appearances at lower levels, but he didn’t get back to Altoona. The next year he opened with Greensboro and, in 17 innings, allowed just four hits and seven walks, and fanned 22. In mid-May, though, he went on the injured list and did not return.
Stats
Transactions
June 6, 2018: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 19th round, 564th overall pick; signed on June 13.