Rob Whalen Stats & Scouting Report

IP	36
ERA	5.75
WHIP	1.194
BB/9	3.75
SO/9	6.75

Full name Robert D. Whalen
Born 01/31/1994 in East Stroudsburg, PA
Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 220 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Haines City
Debut 08/03/2016
Drafted in the 12th round (380th overall) by the New York Mets in 2012 (signed for $100,000).

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Whalen has been traded twice since being drafted by the Mets in the 12th round in 2012. He made his major league debut with the Braves in 2016 before being included with Max Povse in a trade for Alex Jackson. Whalen reached the big leagues the Mariners in 2017 but missed most of the season with leg and knee issues early and later a shoulder injury. The sharpness of his secondary pitches suffered because of his leg problems, and Whalen became frustrated at not being healthy. He was mostly ineffective in 10 starts at Triple-A Tacoma in 2017. When he's right, Whalen has a lively 90-93 mph fastball with tail and heavy sinking action. His repertoire includes a low-80s slider with depth, a curveball with good downward movement and a changeup that is used infrequently. Whalen needs to work on holding runners and limiting damage with runners on base. He was often hurt by one bad inning in his subpar starts. None of Whalen's pitches grade above-average, but he has a diverse repertoire with different looks from both his fastball and curveball. After a mostly lost season in 2017, Whalen will head back to spring training looking for a shot at the big league staff in 2018.
The Mets were intrigued by Whalen's pitchability as a prep and signed him away from a Florida Atlantic commitment for $100,000, and Whalen has shown they were onto something. The Braves acquired him from the Mets at the 2015 trade deadline, and he made his major league debut with Atlanta in 2016 before the Mariners acquired him after the season with Max Povse in exchange for Alex Jackson. Whalen succumbed to severe patellar tendinitis in both knees shortly after joining the Braves in 2015, but returned to health and led the Braves system with a 2.40 ERA across Double-A and Triple-A before making five starts in the majors at the end of the season. He has a deep six-pitch repotoire, including both four-seam and two-seam fastballs in the low 90s with sink, two different curveballs with one harder than the other, a solid-average slider and a changeup. He is a cerebral pitcher who relies more on his guile than stuff, but the sinking action on his fastballs gives him a chance to stick as a ground-ball oriented spot starter or long reliever. He will likely begin 2017 in Triple-A Tacoma's rotation and see time in Seattle during the season.
Whalen and John Gant joined the Braves at the 2015 trade deadline, when the Braves sent Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson to the Mets. After joining the Braves in 2015, Whalen made three starts in late July before having knee surgery. The righthander succeeds with plus deception and excellent command of all his pitches. Hitters have difficulty picking up the ball out of his hand, which makes his average fastball with solid sink more effective. He generates a lot of swings and misses with his curveball, which has a tight three-quarters tilt and was considered to be the best bender in the Mets system in 2014. Whalen also shows a good feel for his changeup and slider, with both potential solid-average pitches with improvement. He is expected to open the season at Double-A Mississippi.
The Mets signed Whalen for an above-slot $100,000 out of the 12th round of the 2012 draft. He missed the better part of May, June and July at low Class A Savannah in 2014 after a cut on his right hand became infected and required surgery. Whalen doesn't light up radar guns, but opposing batters don't see the ball well out of his hand, which allows his average, low-90s sinking fastball and high-70s curveball to play up. His breaking ball features consistent three-quarters tilt and is the best curve in the system, projecting as plus. Whalen commands his fastball and isn't afraid to challenge hitters in the zone with good down action on his pitches. He's still fine-tuning a slider and changeup that could play as average in the future thanks to an athletic, repeatable delivery. Whalen could reach his ceiling as a mid-rotation starter with continued health and pitch refinement and should move up to high Class A St. Lucie in 2015.
The Mets loved Whalen's pitchability when they scouted him as an amateur at Haines City High, so much so that they signed the 12th-rounder for $100,000 even as his velocity dipped as a senior when he pitched through a dead arm. Scouts don't believe he has much projection left because of his maxed-out 6-foot-2 frame, though the Mets say he has the best curveball in the system, a high-70s pitch with three-quarters tilt that will be a consistent plus eventually. He sits 91-92 mph and bumps 94 with above-average life, and a two-seamer he learned in 2013 helped him rack up more than twice as many groundouts as airouts at Rookie-level Kingsport. Whalen commands his fastball well for a teenager, and his secondary pitches play up as a result. He's also working to polish a changeup and slider to round out his repertoire. Whalen is a prime candidate to head to low Class A Savannah in 2014.

Minor League Top Prospects

Whalen was a premium prospect heading into his senior year of high school, but his fastball velocity fell in the spring and his draft stock fell with it. The Mets fine-tuned his mechanics, and those tweaks, combined with a professional throwing program, helped him rediscover his stuff and finish second in the league ERA. Whalen showed a low-90s fastball that touched 94 mph with above-average movement, and the incorporation of a sinker in addition to his four-seam fastball gave him a 2.4-to-1 groundout-to-flyout ratio. He has an advanced ability to throw strikes, and his offspeed stuff played up because of it, allowing him to use it in fastball counts. He throws a changeup, curveball and slider, and the best of the three is a high-70s curveball with three-quarters tilt that is consistently above-average. Described as ?strong as an ox,? Whalen has a physical build and strong lower half. For some evaluators that?s a knock, because they believe it limits his projection.