Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | STL | LHP | 34 | 35 |
Grades Update: Dec 2020
| OFP | Role | FB | CB | SL | CH | Ctl/Cmd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 50 | 55 | 45/40 |
Dec 2020 Report
Evaluator: Matt Thompson
Age: 26 yr
Height: 6-5
Weight: 215 lbs
Hits/Throws: L/L
Acquired: 2017 Draft - Round 9
RuleV: 2020
Physical Description: Has ideal starters frame; long and lean with broad shoulders. Organization has been successful with pitcher's of this type in the past. Attacks hitters; would think he throws 100+ with how he attacks.
Delivery & Mechanics: 3/4 arm angle with one of the cleanest deliveries in the organization. Half-inverted windup, feet pointing towards first and upper half angled towards the plate and begins with side-step. Drives off the back leg and generates a big downward plane, and hides the ball well behind his large frame. Gets himself into good fielding position.
Fastball: Primarily works up and down with the heater, and up and in against left-handers. For some unexplained reason his velocity was down to 86-90 during 2019, and that's back to what he was at Eastern Carolina. He was sitting in the low-90s and even nudging 95 at times. Having to pitch without the extra heat was a tough adjustment, and he ran into some problems in the upper minors. The pitch has a natural sinking action and generates groundballs. Grade: 40
Curveball: Big, slow breaking curveball that plays off of fastball up in the zone. Fastball velocity was down and curveball also looked to have lost some of its signature bite. When he misses it's traditionally up. Grade: 50
Slider: Tight late break on the pitch. Works it down in the zone and primarily against righties. Throws it at their back foot. It's his go to breaking ball to get strikeouts. Has cutter like action at times. I think he manipulates it a bit, adding and subtracting from the pitch's depth. Grade: 50
Changeup: His best pitch. Disguised as the fastball but has late tumble away from right-handed hitters. Will throw it in fastball counts, and it can get swing and misses as well as generate weak contact. Pretty much used exclusively against right-handers. Grade: 55
Control and Command: Tough year for him. His control took a hit this year but it was also the first time in his professional and collegiate career that he really struggled. His stuff was down and he had to adjust by becoming more fine and not being as aggressive. He didn't have that 95 MPH in his back pocket to make up for missed locations. The spike in homers can verify this claim. Less margin for error. He also never demonstrated pinpoint control in the past, and that shows when the velocity is way down. Control: 45 | Command: 40
Overall: Kruczynski attacks hitters north and south, which makes him a good fit for the modern game. Kruczysnki wasn't selected in the Rule 5 Draft after the organization left him unprotected. If the velocity didn't take a dip he likely gets protected by the Cardinals this winter. Instead he went undrafted in the Rule Five draft. Kruczynski profiles as a swing man because he doesn't have that one trait on the mound that he does well, or that one out pitch. Collection of average to above-average tools.
OFP: 35
Role: 30 - Up/Down Emergency Depth
Risk: Low
