John Curtiss Stats & Scouting Report — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

IP	9.1
ERA	8.68
WHIP	1.5
BB/9	2.89
SO/9	8.68

Full name John Pickens Curtiss
Born 04/05/1993 in Dallas, TX
Profile Ht.: 6'5" / Wt.: 220 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Texas
Debut 08/25/2017
Drafted in the 6th round (170th overall) by the Minnesota Twins in 2014 (signed for $266,900).

View Draft Report

While he's just a redshirt sophomore, Curtiss already has his degree and scouts consider him signable. He has a max-effort delivery and had Tommy John surgery, which prompted him to miss the 2013 season, as well as surgery to relieve pain from thoracic outlet syndrome that year. He has returned this spring as Texas' closer, and while he hasn't been Huston Street or J. Brent Cox (who both closed for Longhorns national championship teams), he has been effective. Curtiss doesn't have great command but throws hard, sitting at 93-95 mph at his best. His secondary stuff--a hard breaking ball, a slurvy slider and changeup--doesn't excite scouts. His intelligence shows on the mound, as does his competitiveness. The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder has thrown the changeup more than the slider this season but generally pitches off his fastball.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Track Record: Signed for $266,900 as a sixth-rounder in 2014, Curtiss overcame UCL and thoracic-outlet syndrome surgeries in an eight-month span as the Texas closer. An academic All-America and aspiring country singer-songwriter who graduated in three years with an English degree, Curtiss endured a tough 2015 that included a concussion and elbow pain that cost him two months. He overcame it all to make his ML debut in 2017 and return in 2018, though he hasn’t had success at the level.

Scouting Report: Curtiss’ fastball tops out at 98 mph and sits at 94-96 mph, but it’s his tight mid-80s slider that serves as his two-strike weapon. On the down side, his groundball rate dipped to 39 percent at Triple-A, where his nine-inning walk rate jumped over 5 and his ERA was 5.22 combined in June and July. He struggles to hold runners and his emotions have gotten the best of him at times in the majors, but he’s smart enough to figure things out.

The Future: Command and confidence appear to be the only things holding Curtiss back from a permanent spot near the back end of the Twins’ bullpen. He should get another shot at proving he belongs in 2019 after brief looks the last two years went poorly. The stuff is certainly there.
Signed for $266,900 out of the sixth round in 2014, Curtiss had already worked his way back from UCL and thoracic-outlet syndrome surgeries in an eight-month span while at the University of Texas. Serving as closer on a Longhorns team that reached the College World Series, Curtiss caught the eye of Twins area scout Marty Esposito. An academic all-America and aspiring country singer-songwriter who graduated in three years with an English degree, Curtiss suffered a freak concussion in 2015 and later missed two months with elbow pain that had him fearing a second Tommy John procedure. Since improving his overall conditioning, Curtiss has posted a 2.04 ERA, 24 saves and 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings at four minor league levels. His fastball tops out at 98 mph and sits at 94-96 mph, but it was a much-improved mid-80s slider that gave him a dominant two-strike weapon. Upon reaching the majors Curtiss struggled to control his emotions and his mechanics. He figures to get more seasoning at Triple-A, but he should eventually fit as a back-end bullpen piece.

Draft Prospects

While he's just a redshirt sophomore, Curtiss already has his degree and scouts consider him signable. He has a max-effort delivery and had Tommy John surgery, which prompted him to miss the 2013 season, as well as surgery to relieve pain from thoracic outlet syndrome that year. He has returned this spring as Texas' closer, and while he hasn't been Huston Street or J. Brent Cox (who both closed for Longhorns national championship teams), he has been effective. Curtiss doesn't have great command but throws hard, sitting at 93-95 mph at his best. His secondary stuff--a hard breaking ball, a slurvy slider and changeup--doesn't excite scouts. His intelligence shows on the mound, as does his competitiveness. The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder has thrown the changeup more than the slider this season but generally pitches off his fastball.

Career Transactions

New York Mets optioned RHP John Curtiss to Syracuse Mets.
New York Mets optioned RHP John Curtiss to Syracuse Mets.
New York Mets recalled RHP John Curtiss from Syracuse Mets.
New York Mets recalled RHP John Curtiss from Syracuse Mets.
New York Mets optioned RHP John Curtiss to Syracuse Mets.
Syracuse Mets activated RHP John Curtiss.
New York Mets optioned RHP John Curtiss to Syracuse Mets.
New York Mets recalled RHP John Curtiss from Syracuse Mets.
New York Mets recalled RHP John Curtiss from Syracuse Mets.
New York Mets optioned RHP John Curtiss to Syracuse Mets.
Syracuse Mets activated RHP John Curtiss.
New York Mets optioned RHP John Curtiss to Syracuse Mets.
New York Mets recalled RHP John Curtiss from Syracuse Mets.
New York Mets recalled RHP John Curtiss from Syracuse Mets.
New York Mets optioned RHP John Curtiss to Syracuse Mets.

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