Matt Mikulski

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #28 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/High
  
  Track Record: Mikulski pitched four years at Fordham and rose up draft boards as a senior when his velocity spiked to touch triple digits. He led the Atlantic 10 Conference in both ERA and strikeouts and was drafted by the Giants in the second round, signing for $1,197,500. Mikulski was conservatively assigned to Low-A San Jose to start his full-season debut in 2022 but struggled mightily against younger competition. His fastball lost several ticks of velocity and he got hit around for a 6.95 ERA and a .296/.383/.497 opponent slash line.
  
  Scouting Report: Mikulski is a strong 6-foot-4 lefthander, but his poor arm action and declining stuff raise concerns. His fastball sits at 90 mph and touches 95, down 4-5 mph from where he was in college. His low 80s slider with good shape and powerful bite is an average offering, but his soft, slurvy curveball in the low-70s is a below-average and ineffective pitch and his below-average, low-80s changeup needs to make significant strides. Mikulski dealt with nagging knee pain all year and the Giants believe a return to health might help his stuff tick back up. The team also tried to shorten Mikulski's arm slot, but it got too short and cost him flexibility in his delivery. He throws strikes with average control.
  
  The Future: Mikulski will attempt to rebound with a clean bill of health in 2023. With no pitch presently better than average, his stuff needs to come back for him to have a major league future.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Curveball: 40. Slider: 50. Changeup: 40. Control: 50
• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #7 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: After going unpicked in the shortened 2020 draft, Mikulski returned to Fordham and saw his stock rise astronomically thanks to mechanical changes that led his stuff to tick way up. His 1.45 ERA and 124 strikeouts were each the best in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and the Giants were excited enough to make him their second-round choice. Mikulski signed for $1,197,500 and made four starts at the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League in his pro debut.
  
  Scouting Report: The mechanical changes Mikulski made were key to his breakout. The lefthander shortened his arm action, and the new path helped create even more deception. With the changes, the ball now appears to come from behind his ear in his delivery and is extremely hard for batters to pick up. His fastball velocity also ticked up to average 93 mph and touched the upper 90s. Mikulski showed no clear favorite among his offspeed pitches while in college, throwing his slider, curveball and changeup each between 11% and 14% of the time. His changeup is the most promising of the three because of the deception in his delivery and velocity separation from his fastball. The pitch is thrown in the 83-86 mph range and got whiffs 70% of the time hitters swung. Mikulski’s mid-80s slider flashes average, and his curveball is good mostly for an early-count strike. Mikulski’s delivery helped him raise his draft stock, but it also doesn’t lend itself to precise control and could eventually be the reason he moves to the bullpen.
  
  The Future: After a few games in the ACL, Mikulski’s first full season as a pro should begin at one of the Class A levels in 2022. He could fit toward the back of a rotation or as a power reliever late in games.
  

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #39 prospect in 2021 draft
  Undrafted last year, Mikulski returned to Fordham for his senior year and his stock has climbed considerably after he changed his mechanics, improved his stuff and dominated the Atlantic 10. His 1.45 ERA led the league and ranked sixth in the country, he struck out a league-high 124 batters in 68.1 innings and his 16.3 K/9 ranked first in the nation. Coming into the season, Mikulski shortened his arm action and increased his velocity, as he now sits at 92-95 mph with a peak of 98. He hides the ball behind his chest with his short, abrupt arm path before the ball pops out from behind his ear, so the deception in his delivery helps his already strong fastball play up because it jumps on hitters faster than they expect. It also helps him disguise his offspeed stuff, though scouts are split on determining his best secondary pitch. Some prefer his slider, which flashes as an average pitch, though it's often more of a fringe-average offering. His 83-86 mph changeup is the pitch with his highest swing-and-miss rate. The action on his changeup doesn't stand out, but he disguises it well out of his hand and he executes it down in the zone consistently to get empty swings from hitters who have to be ready for his mid-90s fastball. Mikulski also flips in a get-me-over, below-average curveball as an early-count pitch. Mikulski is 22 with more control than tight command and an unorthodox delivery that adds to the concerns of several scouts that his long-term role might be in the bullpen, while others see a potential mid-rotation starter trending up.
• Ranked #203 prospect in 2020 draft
  Mikulski worked almost exclusively out of Fordham’s bullpen as a freshman before moving to the rotation as a sophomore and posting a 6-6, 4.06 mark in 82 innings. A very strong Cape Cod League showing (1-1, 1.86) was followed by an equally impressive start to the 2020 season—he posted a 2-1, 1.29 record in four starts before play was stopped. Mikulski is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound lefthander with a funky delivery and a significant head whack that works into his operation, but it’s hard to argue the results thus far. He relies on a fastball that ranges from 91-93 mph, along with a curveball with some spin on it and a changeup that projects at best as average. His fastball grades out as a 55-pitch and the curveball can be anywhere from a 50-60 depending on his command that day. Mikulski is a pitcher who relies on control over command, and there is some question of whether he can stick as a starter due to trouble throwing strikes at times (he posted a 4.0 walk rate in three seasons at Fordham). Mikulski’s ability to breeze through the order the first time around before struggling the second time through reinforces the notion that he may be best used out of the bullpen, where his fastball and curveball should play up. Scouts are impressed by Mikulski’s makeup and athleticism and he could be a pitcher that moves quickly through the minor leagues once he carves out a role.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/High
  
  Track Record: Mikulski pitched four years at Fordham and rose up draft boards as a senior when his velocity spiked to touch triple digits. He led the Atlantic 10 Conference in both ERA and strikeouts and was drafted by the Giants in the second round, signing for $1,197,500. Mikulski was conservatively assigned to Low-A San Jose to start his full-season debut in 2022 but struggled mightily against younger competition. His fastball lost several ticks of velocity and he got hit around for a 6.95 ERA and a .296/.383/.497 opponent slash line.
  
  Scouting Report: Mikulski is a strong 6-foot-4 lefthander, but his poor arm action and declining stuff raise concerns. His fastball sits at 90 mph and touches 95, down 4-5 mph from where he was in college. His low 80s slider with good shape and powerful bite is an average offering, but his soft, slurvy curveball in the low-70s is a below-average and ineffective pitch and his below-average, low-80s changeup needs to make significant strides. Mikulski dealt with nagging knee pain all year and the Giants believe a return to health might help his stuff tick back up. The team also tried to shorten Mikulski's arm slot, but it got too short and cost him flexibility in his delivery. He throws strikes with average control.
  
  The Future: Mikulski will attempt to rebound with a clean bill of health in 2023. With no pitch presently better than average, his stuff needs to come back for him to have a major league future.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Curveball: 40. Slider: 50. Changeup: 40. Control: 50
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/High
  
  Track Record: Mikulski pitched four years at Fordham and rose up draft boards as a senior when his velocity spiked to touch triple digits. He led the Atlantic 10 Conference in both ERA and strikeouts and was drafted by the Giants in the second round, signing for $1,197,500. Mikulski was conservatively assigned to Low-A San Jose to start his full-season debut in 2022 but struggled mightily against younger competition. His fastball lost several ticks of velocity and he got hit around for a 6.95 ERA and a .296/.383/.497 opponent slash line.
  
  Scouting Report: Mikulski is a strong 6-foot-4 lefthander, but his poor arm action and declining stuff raise concerns. His fastball sits at 90 mph and touches 95, down 4-5 mph from where he was in college. His low 80s slider with good shape and powerful bite is an average offering, but his soft, slurvy curveball in the low-70s is a below-average and ineffective pitch and his below-average, low-80s changeup needs to make significant strides. Mikulski dealt with nagging knee pain all year and the Giants believe a return to health might help his stuff tick back up. The team also tried to shorten Mikulski's arm slot, but it got too short and cost him flexibility in his delivery. He throws strikes with average control.
  
  The Future: Mikulski will attempt to rebound with a clean bill of health in 2023. With no pitch presently better than average, his stuff needs to come back for him to have a major league future.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Curveball: 40. Slider: 50. Changeup: 40. Control: 50
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 40/High
  
  Track Record: After going unpicked in the shortened 2020 draft, Mikulski returned to Fordham and saw his stock rise astronomically thanks to mechanical changes that led his stuff to tick way up. His 1.45 ERA and 124 strikeouts were each the best in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and the Giants were excited enough to make him their second-round choice. Mikulski signed for $1,197,500 and made four starts at the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League in his pro debut.
  
  Scouting Report: The mechanical changes Mikulski made were key to his breakout. The lefthander shortened his arm action, and the new path helped create even more deception. With the changes, the ball now appears to come from behind his ear in his delivery and is extremely hard for batters to pick up. His fastball velocity also ticked up to average 93 mph and touched the upper 90s. Mikulski showed no clear favorite among his offspeed pitches while in college, throwing his slider, curveball and changeup each between 11% and 14% of the time. His changeup is the most promising of the three because of the deception in his delivery and velocity separation from his fastball. The pitch is thrown in the 83-86 mph range and got whiffs 70% of the time hitters swung. Mikulski&#39s mid-80s slider flashes average, and his curveball is good mostly for an early-count strike. Mikulski&#39s delivery helped him raise his draft stock, but it also doesn&#39t lend itself to precise control and could eventually be the reason he moves to the bullpen.
  
  The Future: After a few games in the ACL, Mikulski&#39s first full season as a pro should begin at one of the Class A levels in 2022. He could fit toward the back of a rotation or as a power reliever late in games.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Slider: 50. Curveball: 40. Changeup: 55. Control: 50.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: After going unpicked in the shortened 2020 draft, Mikulski returned to Fordham and saw his stock rise astronomically thanks to mechanical changes that led his stuff to tick way up. His 1.45 ERA and 124 strikeouts were each the best in the Atlantic 10 Conference, and the Giants were excited enough to make him their second-round choice. Mikulski signed for $1,197,500 and made four starts at the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League in his pro debut.
  
  Scouting Report: The mechanical changes Mikulski made were key to his breakout. The lefthander shortened his arm action, and the new path helped create even more deception. With the changes, the ball now appears to come from behind his ear in his delivery and is extremely hard for batters to pick up. His fastball velocity also ticked up to average 93 mph and touched the upper 90s. Mikulski showed no clear favorite among his offspeed pitches while in college, throwing his slider, curveball and changeup each between 11% and 14% of the time. His changeup is the most promising of the three because of the deception in his delivery and velocity separation from his fastball. The pitch is thrown in the 83-86 mph range and got whiffs 70% of the time hitters swung. Mikulski’s mid-80s slider flashes average, and his curveball is good mostly for an early-count strike. Mikulski’s delivery helped him raise his draft stock, but it also doesn’t lend itself to precise control and could eventually be the reason he moves to the bullpen.
  
  The Future: After a few games in the ACL, Mikulski’s first full season as a pro should begin at one of the Class A levels in 2022. He could fit toward the back of a rotation or as a power reliever late in games.