Atlanta Braves Newcomer: Rule 5 Selection Evan Rutckyj

Jun 7, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Atlanta Braves second baseman Dan Uggla against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Evan Rutckyj Scouting Report

More from Tomahawk Take

• Braves News: Braves acquire Diaz, moves around the division, more
• Atlanta Braves 2012 Top Prospects Review: J.R. Graham
• Atlanta Braves Acquire Lewin Diaz from the Orioles
• Atlanta Braves 2023 Preseason Top 30 Prospects List: 6-10
• Braves News: Giving the bullpen some love, Trevor Bauer reinstated, more

I watched Evan’s last four relief appearances for AA Trenton on the season. In those appearances, he pitched 6 2/3 innings, with a 2.70 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and 1/11 BB/K ratio.

Evan stands an impressive 6’5, but he’s listed at 213 pounds, and that number seems accurate, leaving him fairly lean on that taller frame. He sports a fastball that can run into the mid-90s, but typically runs more in the low-90s with excellent late life. He also has a biting slider that became a weapon this year when he changed from throwing a slower, deeper-breaking slider to a harder, later-breaking pitch. The slider now looks more like the fastball, and it really throws off hitters.

Evan has a motion that explains a lot of his control issues, which is why I could definitely see some adjustment in Atlanta. His leg stride for a 6’5 guy seems fairly short, and it’s certainly not consistent. He has a lot of movement in his arm within his motion as the ball starts at his chest in his glove, dips all the way down below his hip and then behind the hip, then follows a path up his back and up his arm until he releases it at just under a 3/4 pitch slot. While this does make the ball harder to pick up coming out of his hand for hitters from both sides of the plate, it also leaves Ruthckyj more susceptible than a typical lefty reliever to stolen bases.

In watching his pitching, Rutckyj is most effective when working his slider and fastball both at the knees with an occasional chest-high fastball. With his arm whip motion, he seems to really have hitters baffled when he climbs the ladder with a fastball when he otherwise keeps the ball down. When he tries the top of the zone too frequently, however, he doesn’t really have the sort of late life on his pitches to stop hitters from tattooing his pitches.

Next: 2016 outlook

Rutckyj has a change up that he throws as a “show me” pitch, but it’s not good at all. I saw maybe a dozen in the games I saw, and he bounced probably 8 of them. Granted, he got about 50% strikes on them because there is good life on the pitch, but it’s a pitch that he really can’t locate, so unless he’s on his best day of location, the change up isn’t really a good weapon for him.