The High Point Rockers of the independent Atlantic league have re-signed relief pitcher and former New York Yankee farmhand Kyle Halbohn, the team recently announced.
Halbohn, who’s from North Massapequa, Long Island, split last season with the Rockers and the Chicago Dogs of the independent American Association, working out of the bullpen and recording impressive numbers for each team.
While with High Point, Halbohn, 27, appeared in 15 games with a stellar 1.89 ERA, fanning 16 batters in 19 innings. With Chicago, he filled the closer role position and spun a spectacular 1.98 ERA in 36 games while notching 14 saves. That save total marked the 6-foot-8, 230 pounder’s highest in a season since recording 10 saves at Belmont Abbey College, in Belmont, North Carolina, in 2016.
A Yankees non-drafted free agent in ’16, Halbohn’s affiliated ball experience began that same year with the New York’s Gulf Coast League affiliate, where he posted an 0-3 mark with a solid 3.54 ERA. He then joined the Los Angeles Angels organization, reaching High-A Inland Empire in 2018.
For his career, Halbohn has allowed a minuscule HR/9 Innings rate of just 0.3 while averaging over a strikeout per frame.
But, as he showed throughout his career, his pitching skill set fits well in any situation he’s called upon to perform, with manager Jamie Keefe saying his relief versatility is a solid asset to the club.
“His experience as a late inning guy will help us in the late innings,” Keefe said on HighPointRockers.com. “But he can be used in any role we see fit.”
— Jerry Del Priore
