2019 MLB Season: Finding the Next Ryan Pressly
By Ryan Sanders
After not doing much for the San Francisco Giants in his 2017 debut, Kyle Crick broke out with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018 turning in a solid 1 WAR reliever season across 60 innings. Crick brings a blistering 96 MPH heater and mixes that with the top curve-ball by RPM in baseball coming in at 3196 RPMs.
He threw that heater 75% of the time using the classic Pirate philosophy of pitching inside. When he did throw his curve-ball, he did a good job of throwing it down and away to right-handers. Crick got grounders on 40% of balls in play and struck out another 25% of his hitters.
While his performance was strong, I think there is another gear for Crick. Throwing his curve-ball more would result in more swings and misses. He could still throw his heater inside to generate more ground-balls but I (and likely an acquiring team) would like to see Crick try a 60/40 FB/CB split. This could result in a bump in strikeout rate, which is always positive.
If the Pirates aren’t in contention in the 2019 MLB seson, look for a team to take interest in Crick.