By Clint Thompson
THOMASVILLE — Weight loss tipped the scales for Kyle Palmer this offseason.
More than 30 pounds later, the Thomas University pitcher is reenergized for the Night Hawks’ upcoming season.
“It wasn’t anything I planned on doing but after you get doing it a while, the energy, you feel better and you get used to it,” Palmer said, crediting his weight drop — from 262 to 230 pounds — to running a mile to two miles a day. “You feel like a kid again.”
The Night Hawks’ season begins Friday with a home doubleheader against Emmanuel College. Palmer is projected by coach Mike Lee among the top four in the starting rotation.
“He’s going to be pretty critical,” Lee said, adding that Palmer will likely start the second game of Saturday’s twinbill. “These first couple of weekends we’re in four-game sets, which means he will start in one of those games each weekend. I look for him to throw as much or more than he has in the past couple of years.”
“I had a bad year last year,” Palmer said. “I’m looking to rebound this year.”
The former Thomas County Central Yellow Jacket posted a 6.75 ERA in 13 appearances last season, which followed a stellar freshman season when Palmer’s team-leading ERA was 3.54. Lee is confident his pitcher’s dedication in the offseason will help him regain his 2005 form.
“We’ve seen a difference, already,” Lee said. “He’s more consistent in his mechanics and he’s got more stamina. The problem with Kyle has been getting to the fourth or fifth inning and he starts to get tired and doesn’t usually go past that. The way he’s been throwing and his bullpen workouts, it looks like he’s in a lot better shape. We think it’s going to help him get to the later innings a lot easier.”
Palmer was fourth on the team last year with 57 1/3 innings pitched.
“He’s got a very nice slider, but his changeup has come a long way in the past few months,” Lee said. “His slider I would say is his out pitch. His fastball, when he keeps it low in the zone, is really a good pitch. It explodes through the zone, and as long as he’s locating it well, he’s fine. But it tends to flatten out when he gets it up around the waist. Those balls tend to go a long way.”
Palmer gave up six home runs last year, which tied for the most on the team. But with the dedication Palmer has shown in improving his fitness, positive results could also be expected on the field.
“It was just, very simply, he needed to get in a little bit better shape,” Lee added. “He’s gone over and above and done a lot better than I anticipated. It’s been, I’d say, 99.9 percent him. He’s doing a lot of work on his own.
“It gives him a little bit better outlook on the way things are going. I think early on, he’ll see the difference. I think that’s something we’ll be able to build off of.”
TU’s doubleheader on Friday begins at 2 p.m. at Varnedoe Stadium. The twinbill on Saturday starts at noon.
