2025 in Review: Pitching

The 2025 Naturals featured some stud pitchers and top-ranked prospects in their starting rotation throughout the season, along with relievers who were downright nasty.

Over 138 games, the Naturals had a 4.68 team ERA with a 1.43 WHIP. They finished with 1,171 strikeouts on the year, the ninth-straight season with 1,000 or more strikeouts. The bullpen had 34 saves in 2025, the most for a Nats’ pitching staff since the 2018 team had 35 and allowed the sixth-fewest hits in a season, along with the fourth-lowest average allowed in team history.

Left-hander Ryan Ramsey led all pitchers on the team with 108 strikeouts this season and tied for the team-high in wins with six. RHP Ethan Bosacker also had six wins in just 11 starts, making seven appearances in relief. RHP Ben Kudrna, LHP Hunter Owen, and RHP Henry Williams all made 19 starts, the most on staff, while Williams worked 108.1 innings over that time, the most for a Naturals pitcher this season. Kudrna came on strong over his final 13 appearances for the Naturals. KC’s number seven prospect went 2-3 with a 3.28 ERA over that time, holding opponents to a .206 batting average while the righty posted a 1.06 WHIP. He was even better over his final six starts, where Kudrna had a 1.71 ERA with a 0.85 WHIP and a .164 batting average against. RHP Shane Panzini was a shooting star in the Texas League, owning a 3.16 ERA and a 5-0 record, striking out 65 over 57.0 innings before his promotion to Omaha. LHP Hunter Patteson made eight starts and three relief appearances for the Nats, going 4-0 with a save.

In the bullpen, LHP Christian Chamberlain gave hitters fits, having the lowest batting average against for any hurler with more than 23.0 innings of work in a Naturals uniform this year. RHP Brandon Johnson pitched in just 17 games for NWA but led the team in saves after going 7-for-7 in save opportunities before he was promoted to AAA Omaha. LHP Oscar Rayo was super effective, too. He made 35 appearances with three starts, owning a 3.70 ERA and four holds to go along with a save. LHP Chazz Martinez also punched his ticket to AAA after making 31 relief appearances, saving three games with five holds and a 1.85 ERA. Martinez was also part of the four pitchers to throw a combined no-hitter in San Antonio in April. RHP Ben Sears stuck with the Nats nearly all season, helping the Storm Chasers for a nine-game stretch from the end of June through the beginning of August. Sears appeared in 32 games, making five saves.

A Naturals pitcher struck out double-digit hitters in a game three times in 2025. Kudrna did it twice with 10 against the Frisco RoughRiders at home in April, and 11 in July on the road in North Little Rock. That performance was just the 12th time a Nats pitcher recorded 11 or more K’s in an outing, only two behind the team record. Williams was the only other pitcher with 10 strikeouts on the year, an effort he put forth on September 6 at home against Springfield. Williams went 6.0 innings in that start without allowing a run.

Three starts went a season-long 7.0 innings. Williams logged a pair in the first two months of the season against Tulsa and Springfield, while Kudrna had the other in mid-August against the Travelers, his final start with NWA. Bosacker owned the longest relief outing of the year, going 7.0 innings on July 11, earning a win against Midland. His outstanding effort fell one out shy of the team record for a reliever.

NWA had five rehabbing pitchers join them in 2025, too. RHP Hunter Harvey, RHP Michael Lorenzen, LHP Daniel Lynch IV, LHP Cole Ragans, and RHP Kyle Wright combined to pitch in 10 games for the Naturals this season on rehab assignments from Kansas City.

At the end of the year, NWA had a slew of young pitchers join the team. Despite a July 8 promotion from High-A Quad Cities, RHP A.J. Causey made 21 appearances. The reliever was 4-for-4 in save opportunities while going 3-3 with a 1.91 ERA. Opponents hit just .198 over his 33.0 innings of work, where he walked just seven. RHP Zach Cawyer and RHP D**ennis Colleran* joined the team for the last series in Frisco, allowing two hits over a combined three appearances. The team also featured former Razorback LHP *Caden Monke**, who pitched in a team-high 43 games in 2025.