After 'unbelievable' run in '23, Ginkel still finding footing in '24

This story was excerpted from Steve Gilbert’s D-backs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHOENIX -- When right-hander Kevin Ginkel took the mound during the D-backs' run to the World Series last year, you could see the tremendous confidence he had.

In 10 postseason appearances, Ginkel threw 11 2/3 innings and did not allow a run. It capped a campaign in which he was dominant during the regular season as well, as he went 9-1 with an ERA+ of 174.

“It was unbelievable,” Ginkel said of how he felt during the postseason. “I'm trying to get back to some form of that now.”

This season has been more of a grind for Ginkel. He hasn’t pitched poorly (his ERA+ is at 105), but he just hasn’t been the dominant force that he was last year.

A lot of that is because of his slider, which, when on, is a devastating pitch that complements his mid-to-upper 90 mph fastball.

“For me, it's just executing my slider -- whether it's for a strike or as a putaway pitch,” Ginkel said. “It's just trying to get some momentum back and some confidence, and I feel like I'm in a great spot.”

That Ginkel speaks of regaining some confidence shows how fickle a commodity that can be in baseball. When things are going well, the momentum and the confidence just flow, but regardless of how much success someone has, a period of struggle can send things in the opposite direction.

“It's difficult, yeah,” Ginkel said. “I feel like for me, it's trying to be the same version of yourself every single day and not letting the results affect you, even though they can. There are days I come in here and I’m not feeling mentally 100 percent, but just not showing it and expressing it. I feel like it’s just not letting outings kind of linger and go into the next one and the next one.”

Some games where things don’t go well are easier to take than others. If the team still wins, difficult outings can be easier to swallow, for example. But there are other factors as well.

“I can walk away from an outing being like, 'OK, I gave up one today,'” Ginkel said. “But two runs? Those crooked numbers kind of get a little tougher to bounce back from. It’s just part of the journey.”