2,075 MLB PLAYERS | 14,476 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
College  | Story  | 4/3/2021

College Reports: April 2

Vincent Cervino      Kyler Peterson      Drew Wesolowski      Travis Ice      Perfect Game Staff      Colton Olinger     
Photo: Ryan Cusick (Kathryn Balogh)
College Player Report Database

Players Covered: Ryan Cusick (Wake Forest), Michael Kirian (Louisville), Tate Kuehner (Louisville), Chad Dallas (Tennessee), Landon Green (Alabama), Trey Faltine (Texas), Andrew Abbott (Virginia), Andy Archer (Georgia Tech), Cort Roedig (Georgia Tech), Garrett Irvin (Arizona), Vince Vannelle (Arizona), Dawson Netz (Arizona), Preston Price (Arizona), Tyler Thornton (Arizona State), Graham Osman (Arizona State), Austin Love (North Carolina), Caden O'Brien (North Carolina)




Ryan Cusick, RHP, Wake Forest

Junior right-hander Ryan Cusick has been one of the hotter commodities in terms of draft buzz in the first half of the season and Cusick suited up to pitch against a touted Louisville offense that seems to be finding their groove. The right-hander has massive physicality at a listed 6-foot-6, 235 pounds with long limbs, good strength, and room to be a potential monster in terms of size. There’s a smaller leg lift in the delivery that translates to plus extension down the bump and the arm action is long, but online, through the back into a higher arm slot. The vertical release slot allows his fastball to generate a good amount of life and action on it as there’s an argument that Cusick’s fastball is one of the best pitches in the college game today. Cusick had some issues as the game wore on in terms of replicating that arm slot and delivery but on the whole he showed a good amount of competitiveness as he fought through some staunch competition.

In terms of pure stuff, Cusick is right there with anyone in the country right now. The aforementioned fastball was electric early on as in the first inning he sat 96-99 mph with four bolts coming at 99 and his best coming at 101 mph on a 2-2 pitch to Cardinal slugger Henry Davis. Given the arm slot and quality of the fastball, the pitch played best towards the top of the strike zone, which is where Cusick got the majority of his swing-and-miss on the pitch. Cusick, however, worked more middle and low with the fastball, but going forward he should absolutely consider pitching more at the top of the strike zone to make the pitch more effective given its qualities.

The curveball looks like a gyro-spin curveball that showed out as plus often in the early going in this look. The command of the pitch needs to be better in order for it to be a true swing-and-miss breaking ball, as he often buried it in the dirt while only sporadically dropping the hook in for a strike. The qualities of the pitch are excellent as it gets good vertical break and downward bite, though he didn’t miss many bats with the pitch. Cusick also showed a firmer changeup that he unveiled in his final inning of work and he got one swing-and-miss on it the three times he showed it. The changeup worked 87-88 mph and showed some sinking action but at its best he replicates it nicely in terms of arm speed.

When you look at the totality of the profile, Cusick is a surefire first rounder. Long term it’s likely a 70 grade fastball with a 60 grade curveball and a changeup that you can project to be solid-average long term as he gets more comfortable with and throws it more. He’ll have to sure up and repeat his mechanics better in terms of strike-throwing and command but in terms of pure stuff, Cusick looks the part of one of the best pitchers in the class.


This is PG 'DiamondKast' Level content.
You must be either an DiamondKast, Crosschecker Rankings & Scouting Reports, or Scout subscriber to read the rest.
Sign in
DiamondKast
PG Special Events
Travel, Lodging, Entertainment
PG Partners
Recommended
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2024 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.