Toronto Blue Jays: Draft Targets 2.0: Pitcher’s Edition

With the 2021 MLB draft rapidly approaching, I have been looking at some potential draft targets for the Blue Jays to take with their first section at pick number 19.  This is part two of this series and in this particular piece, I’ll be doing a deep dive on five intriguing options from the pitching side of the draft, with the position players edition being released shortly.

If you missed part one of either the position players or pitcher additions before the start of the season, make sure to check them out to get all of your prospect info before the draft begins.  With that being said let’s jump in and take a look at some potential future Blue Jays.

Andrew Painter: RHP Calvary Christian (FL) – #17 on MLB Pipeline

Andrew Painter may be the most polished prep pitching prospect in this year’s class.  The Florida commit has a quality repertoire, with a fastball that sits in the mid 90’s that he can either throw as a two-seamer or a four-seamer.

He pairs this with an above-average changeup and a curveball that can get swing and misses from both left-handed and right-handed batters.  Painter also features a slider that sits in the mid 80’s and has shown flashes of being an above-average pitch but still needs some work as it can be inconsistent at times.

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Along with his excellent assortment of pitches, Painter also has above-average control for his age, receiving a 55 grade on MLB Pipelines 20/80 scale.  He’s able to locate his fastball and has the ability to throw all of his offspeed pitches for strikes, which is rare to see at the high school level.

The Florida native has a clean, effortless, and repeatable delivery where he throws from a ¾ arm slot which gives him a good arm side run on his heater.  With his arsenal, Painter also looks like a big-league starting pitcher, standing at a massive 6”7’ and weighing in at 210 pounds, “with room to add on to his frame”.

Painter has the tools and build to be an effective starter at the big league level.  He’s the 17th ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, but I could definitely see him going earlier than this and possibly flirting with the top 10 because of how advanced of a pitcher he is for his age and how well he projects as a starter.

If he manages to make it to pick 19, Painter would be a great addition to the Blue Jays farm system.  He wouldn’t be part of the second wave of talent that’s nearing the big leagues as he is still 3-5 years away, but would still give the organization another high upside prospect that will continue to add to the depth of their farm system.

Ryan Cusick: RHP Wake Forest – #19 on MLB Pipeline

Another flame thrower anyone?

The Blue Jays have several power arms both on their big league roster and in their farm system with the likes of Nate Pearson, Jordan Romano, Yosver Zulueta, and Julian Merryweather all having a big fastball that can touch triple digits.

Ryan Cusick’s heater is as good as any of the aforementioned names.  The Wake Forest product received a 70-grade fastball from MLB Pipeline and for good reason, as it sits around 94-97mph and reportedly touched 102mph this past fall.

https://twitter.com/BaseballAmerica/status/1356597519254437888

Cusick can maintain his velocity deep into games and has a high spin rate which makes his fastball heavy and gives it late life.  The Massachusetts native has a great build, standing at 6”6’ and weighing in at 235 pounds, but does seem to use a lot of effort in his delivery which could lead to health issues down the road.

Despite having an elite fastball, Cusick is by no means a finished product and looks to be more of a thrower than a pitcher at this point in his career.  The hard-throwing righty doesn’t have great command and struggles to throw strikes consistently, allowing 72 free passes in just 146.2 college innings.

Cusick doesn’t possess an above-average offspeed pitch yet, though his curveball was a good “out” pitch for him in college, it appeared to be a bit loopy and doesn’t have that tight break you like to see.  Professional hitters may have an easier time picking it up because of this, which could make it less effective in the minors.

Cusick also hasn’t had great success against college competition, posting a 5.03 career ERA, with it sitting just over 4 this season.  This is mainly due to his lack of command which will definitely have to be ironed out if he is going to succeed once he turns pro.

Despite the lack of command and polish, scouts are high on Cusick because of the velocity he possesses and the strike-out potential he’s shown.  Someone is going to take a shot on Cusick in the first round.  If the Blue Jays feel comfortable with taking on a project and fall in love with raw stuff, then I think that Ryan Cusick could be an intriguing selection this July.

Michael McGreevy: RHP UC Santa Barbara – #32 on MLB Pipeline

“No college pitcher has more helium right now” than Michael McGreevy of UC Santa Barbara.  McGreevy, who pitched solely as a reliever for the Gauchos as a freshman, came into the 2020 season as a full-time starter and had a great beginning to his campaign, posting a 0.99 ERA in four starts before the COVID-19 shutdown.

The California native had success to open his college career because of his elite command, which earned a 60 grade on MLB Pipeline, the highest in the class.  McGreevy didn’t light up the radar gun in his first two seasons in Santa Barbara, with a fastball that sat in the upper 80’s to low 90’s.  This forced him to learn how to locate his heater and to figure out how to keep hitters off balance by mixing up his pitches.

This season, McGreevy has seen an uptick in velocity, as his fastball now sits in the low to mid 90’s, and will touch 96mph on occasion.  This extra velocity has not affected McGreevy’s command and has led to a very impressive season where he’s gone 6-1, posting a 2.96 ERA while striking out 10.4 batters per nine innings (a career-high), and posting an insane K/BB ratio of 11/1.

Scouts have loved what they’ve seen from McGreevy so far this year which has caused him to rocket up the draft boards and is now seen as a real candidate to go in the first round this July.

Despite already seeing an uptick in velocity this season, I think that there is even more untapped power in McGreevy, as he really only pitches with his upper body, so some mechanical adjustments could help him tap into a couple of extra clicks on the radar gun. McGreevy’s offspeed pitches are still raw and will have to be developed if he wants to remain a starter at the next level.  He has a slider that’s shown swing and miss potential and a curveball that he can get over for strikes but neither are considered to be above average pitches at the moment.

Although most people see McGreevy as a late first-round selection, I think some teams may fall in love with his command and he may not last until pick 19.  If he does, the UC Santa Barbara product could be a nice change of pace for a Jays farm system that has a lot of guys who light up the radar gun but struggle with command.

Ben Kudrna: RHP Blue Valley Southwest (KS) – #39 On MLB Pipeline

Heading into last summer, Ben Kudrna was almost certainly going to be honoring his commitment to Lousiana State University, but after a spike in velocity and an improvement in his offspeed pitches, Kudrna is now being looked at as an early Day Two draft pick with the potential to sneak into the first round.

Kudrna saw a jump in his fastball velocity last summer, watching it rise from the upper 80’s-low 90’s to sitting around 92-95mph consistency.  The Kansas native gets a great arm side run on his heater making it very tough against right-handed batters. The Kansas native complements his improved fastball with two offspeed pitches, offering up a slider with good break and a changeup that he has a great feel for, giving him a legitimate three-pitch mix.  Both offspeed pitches have swing and miss upside at the next level which is a huge plus for the young right-hander.

The right-hander does struggle with his fastball command from time to time but is very good at coming back from being down in the count and has confidence in all three of his pitches to use at any time, making it easier to work with when falling behind hitters.  The LSU commit stands at a respectable 6’3” and has good length, but will have to add a little weight in the coming years as he is currently listed at a light 195 pounds.

Kudrna has a clean and repeatable delivery in which he uses his whole body to generate power and gets great extension.  He even broke out a Marcus Stroman style hesitation in his delivery this spring, which is something you don’t see that often from a young arm.  The ability to change the timing in his delivery not only keeps hitters off balance but gives you a glimpse at the kind of athlete Kudrna is.

I’m higher than most people are on Kudrna.  I haven’t seen him in many first-round mock drafts and MLB Pipeline only ranks him as the 39th prospect on their board.  I think there’s a real shot that Kudrna could rise even higher on boards as the draft process continues but right now, I think 19 may be a little rich for him.

Despite this, I wouldn’t be upset if the Jays decided to reach a little and take a shot on the velocity and repertoire of Ben Kudrna.  The Blue Jays may decide to go under slot value with their first-round selection to save some money for later in the draft.  If they go this route, then I think Kudrna could be a great option to save some cash from their bonus pool while still adding a high upside arm to their system.