Ryan Cusick
RHP 6-4 220 Wake Forest
2020 Wake Forest stat line - 4-starts, 0-2, 3.22, 22.1-IP, 43-K, 18-BB
11-24-20 - Prospects Worldwide Mock Draft -
22. RHP Ryan Cusick
School: Wake Forest | B / T: R / R | Ht: 6’6 | Wt: 225lbs | Age: 21.7
Wake Forest has slowly been turning into a Pitchers hotbed with a quick rising developmental program, Jared Shuster to the Braves in Round 1 in 20202, Ryan Cusick is next in line ticketed for the 1st Round. Cusick works from a 3/4 arm slot with a 3 pitch mix. A heavy Fastball approach, (71%) grades as future Plus (60), 95-98 MPH T99 with 2450 RPM, has ride with some arm side run when working gloveside. His best pitch? That would be the Slide, although inconsistent and tendencies to leave some over the plate. It’s 84 MPH tight, with 2 plane break. The potential is there showing true wipeout potential, with a SwStr% of 33%, with a good amount of development left. Rounding out the 3 pitch mix is a rarely used Below-average (45) Changeup in the 86-88 MPH range with some vertical drop to it, mostly used vs LHH.
The control will need to improve, as well as getting those secondaries more involved which will only make his fastball that much better. So there is some reliever risk here you cannot deny. But Cusick has the look, the stuff, and the continued development to see it all coming together in 2021.
11-19-20 - draftsite
1.28 Ryan Cusick RHP Wake Forest
robmorrison14's comments: Tampa Bay came out of nowhere last year. To keep the fire burning they are going to need to keep replacing and replenishing the youth on that team. Ryan Cusick is a player that is could be ready in 2-3 years and depending on if TB can keep the team together, could be a major factor on the Rays taking it all the way.
11-16-20 - Joe - @JoeDoyleMiLB
Wake Forest RHP Ryan Cusick made some drastic changes this Summer. Changed the seam orientation on his fastball to mirror that of a traditional 12-6 CB. Ditched the SL of 2020 for said 12-6 CB. Was apparently 98-100 w/ride 2 weeks ago. Another potential first round arm to watch
11-11-20 - Prospects Live Top 300 Prospect List -
20. Ryan Cusick - RHP
Height: 6-6
Weight: 220 lbs
Hits/Throws: R-R
Hometown: Sudbury, MA
School: Wake Forest
Wake Forest loves a tall pitcher from the cold winters of New England, and Cusick is cut from that cloth. Standing an imposing 6-foot-6, Cusick has good stuff sitting 92-94 mph on his fastball and ramping it up to 96 mph at its hottest. He mixes a slider and a changeup, with the former the better of the secondary pairing. It's a slurvy breaking ball with good arm action. Ever since his time at Lincoln-Sudbury HS Cusick has struggled to throw strikes, and command and control remain hurdles in Cusick's development. Fastball gets pretty mediocre vertical movement, but he's got a lower release height and some elite extension that flatten his vert approach angle to the plate. The result is a fastball that really explodes and rides at the top of the zone.
11-9-20 - Ian Smith Mock 1.0 -
20. New York Yankees
The Pick- RHP Ryan Cusick • Wake Forest
6’6” • 220lb
A former cold weather northeast prep finds his way back to the cold with the Yankees pick here at 24th overall. A gangly 6-foot-6 frame with long limbs, Cusick shoves a plus fastball that sits 92-94 and eats at the top of the zone due to his low release combined with elite extension. Creates whiffs from his above average slide piece and shows a decent changeup when his command is on. Can show SP2 upside when he puts it all together, and slots nicely into a Yankees system needing high quality arms.
8-26-20 - Baltimore Sports and Life -
Ryan Cusick, Wake Forest RHP
Cusick came into the summer needing a performance boost. The stuff was there, but the command was hit or miss. This dichotomy was on full display in the shortened season with 17.33 K/9 and 7.25 BB/9 in 22.1 innings.
With the HiToms in the Coastal Plain League, Cusick found his stride. In 23 innings, Cusick put 40 strikeouts (15.21 K/9) against 9 walks. His 1.14 ERA led all starters, and his 12 hits allowed resulted in a .114 batting average against. All told, Cusick was named CPL Pitcher of the Year.
Cusick needs to follow this up with a strong 2021 ACC campaign to cement a first-round spot. However, if this is the last live look that teams get Cusick couldn’t have put up a better impression.
2021 will be a big year for Cusick. The pure stuff is certainly in the tank, and as we saw with Louisville’s Bobby Miller this season, that sort of kerosene can get you selected in the first round. I do think Cusick has first round stuff, and if the changeup is deployed more consistently and effectively this season, I could see him ascending into the top 15 in the class. I expect him to rise to that mark.
I think a big addition to Cusick’s arsenal would be a cutter. By developing a cutter, he wouldn’t necessarily have to redesign his current breaking ball. A gyroscopic cutter would play beautifully off his fastball and would allow the breaking ball’s current shape to to offer a unique look to hitters. Those two pitches, plus the fastball, would make Cusick a sure-fire top-end first round pick to me.
8-15-20 - Prep Baseball Report -
A high-profile recruit for the Demon Deacons in the fall of 2018, Cusick got his feet wet by going 7-3, 6.44 in 65.2 innings as a freshman in 2019, showing big arm strength but spotty control early in the year, then learning to pitch with less velocity later in the year. His walk rate remained high as a sophomore, but his pitchability did progress, and he finished with a 3.22 ERA in four weekend starts. Cusick certainly looked like a first-rounder in our two looks at him this summer in the Coastal Plain League. Suspect control and command has held Cusick back in the past, but he has always tantalized scouts with his physical 6-foot-6, 225-pound frame and his clean arm action from a high slot. In his CPL debut this summer, he showed the best fastball command we’ve ever seen from him, locating well to both corners and elevating effectively for swing-throughs with a high-spin-rate fastball (ranging from about 2200 rpm to 2588 rpm, and regularly topping 2400 rpm). He sat 94-95 mph in the first inning and bumped 97, then continued to work at 93-95 through three innings before dropping into the 89-91 range in the fourth. In a five-inning start later in the summer, Cusick pitched at 93-95 early and held 90-93 heat through the fifth inning, and his fastball had even more riding life, with outstanding spin rates in the 2400-2624 rpm range. His slurvish breaking ball ranges from 78-82 mph and isn’t a true out pitch at this stage, but he shows the ability to throw it for a strike to get ahead in counts and set up his heater as a putaway pitch. Sometimes he struggles to finish the pitch and misses arm-side and up with it, but the offering does flash average potential. He’s also working hard to develop his straight changeup, an 86-88 mph pitch with an appropriately low spin rate in the 1600 rpm range. It’s currently below-average to fringy with limited action, but he seems to be gaining confidence with it, and he has the aptitude to turn it into a viable weapon in the near future.
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