Tim Cooney Stats & Scouting Report

IP	31
ERA	3.194
WHIP	1.226
BB/9	2.903
SO/9	8.419

Full name Timothy Manus Cooney
Born 12/19/1990 in Collegeville, PA
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 195 / Bats: L / Throws: L
School Wake Forest
Debut 04/30/2015
Drafted in the 3rd round (117th overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012 (signed for $404,400).

View Draft Report

Undrafted out of high school, Cooney emerged as an early-round prospect last season when he went 7-3, 3.01 with 91 strikeouts and 18 walks in 99 innings for the Deacons. For Chatham in the Cape Cod League last summer, Cooney had 46 strikeouts to just eight walks in 48 innings. His junior season has been a different story, as he's been up and down throughout. In 13 starts he was 5-6, 3.76 with 76 strikeouts and 36 walks in 84 innings. Cooney relies on command, so he has been inconsistent because it has been inconsistent. He has a good delivery but seemed to be overthrowing this year. His fastball ranges from 87-93 mph, and he'll typically sit 88-91. He has good secondary stuff in a cutter, curveball and changeup. The cutter is an out pitch that can sit in the mid-80s, and he uses his changeup against righties. His curveball is inconsistent. Despite a rocky season, scouts like the package Cooney offers and his overall track record, and he still has a good chance to go in the first few rounds.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Cooney made his major league debut in 2015, making six starts for the National League Central-champion Cardinals before an appendectomy in July ended his season. He was poised to play an even bigger role in 2016, but he was sidelined all season after he suffered a shoulder injury during spring training that lingered and eventually required surgery in July to remove a calcium deposit. Cooney missed the remainder of the season and was claimed by the Indians on waivers in November. Before his injury, Cooney's fastball sat around 90 mph and peaked at 92. He gets some late life on the pitch, which he locates well to both sides of the plate. His above-average changeup is his best offering and is capable of being an out pitch. His curveball is the better of his two breaking balls, but his slider is a viable fourth pitch. He pounds the strike zone with his whole arsenal, and has averaged less than 2.0 walks per nine innings as a professional. When he returns to full health, Cooney will add another lefthander to the mix for the Indians. He should be able to help them in the major leagues in 2017, either in the bullpen or as a starter.
A native of suburban Philadelphia, Cooney attended the Phillies' 2008 World Series championship parade and grew up a fan of Cole Hamels, honing his changeup along the way. After three workhorse seasons at Wake Forest, he made a fairly rapid ascent up the Cardinals' ladder, finishing 2014, his first full season, at Double-A Springfield before making his big league debut in 2015. Hit hard in his first big league start in April, Cooney adjusted when he got back to St. Louis, locating his solid-average 89-92 mph fastball, which has some sink and late life, to both sides of the plate. He's willing to pitch inside to batters from both sides of the plate and uses his above-average changeup to get swings and misses. Cooney started to mix in a low-80s slider and slightly harder cutter to go with his mid-70s curveball, and his mound savvy helps all five of his pitches play up. An appendectomy that ended his season in late July was his first injury as a pro and shouldn't be a long-term factor. Cooney would have exhausted his rookie eligibility if not for his appendectomy, but he didn't have enough time to rebuild his arm to get back into meaningful games. He has a shot to open 2016 in the big league rotation and profiles as a durable No. 4 starter.
A series of injuries at the levels above him in 2013 brought Cooney to Double-A Springfield ahead of the Cardinals' plans, but the lefty hasn't shown any signs of needing to slow his advancement. He affirmed it with a complete season at Triple-A Memphis in 2014 as arguably the Redbirds' most consistent starter. Cooney was a standout in the Cape Cod League and only slipped in the draft due to a series of injuries that interrupted his junior year at Wake Forest. That year is a distant hiccup considering the relentless consistency he's brought to the pros with an average of six innings per start in 25 at Memphis. Cooney has the poise and presence expected from a college pitcher with a mature sense of his mechanics and stuff. The tall, lithe lefty brings a fastball that hums from 88-92 mph with movement, allowing him to effectively spot both sides of the plate. His changeup advanced to above-average at times in 2014, and he has a yeoman's curve that drops around 75-76 mph. He uses that spectrum of speeds to upset timing, which allows him to aggressively pitch within the strike zone. Cooney inevitably draws comparisons with Marco Gonzales because of handedness and use of the changeup, and he's right behind the touted lefty in terms of ETA. Valued for his reliability and durability, he should debut in 2015 and could receive a cameo start.
Cooney first earned attention as a prospect with a strong turn in the Cape Cod League in 2011. That gave way to an erratic junior year and a slip in the draft. After signing for $404,400, he's been the pitcher envisioned on the Cape. The trickle-down effect of injuries at the upper levels forced Cooney to Double-A Springfield earlier than planned in his 2013 full-season debut. Cooney thrived in the challenging Texas League because of a seasoned approach and four accessible pitches. He had 12 quality starts out of 20 and did not miss a scheduled outing. The tall, angular lefty has a fastball that sits at 90-92 mph and has late, natural movement. He has a workable curve in the 75-76 mph range and continues to improve his above-average changeup to go with a burgeoning cutter. A scout described how Cooney adds and subtracts velocity well to upset timing, and he doesn't shy from challenging righthanded or lefthanded hitters with strikes. He is constantly around the zone and was one of the stingiest with walks in the whole organization. The Cardinals like Cooney's pitchability and durability. His consistency and pitch mix puts him in the Triple-A Memphis rotation and near the big league conversation as a potential No. 4 starter less than 24 months after his draft.
The same fickle winds that carried Cooney to prominence after his strong showing in the Cape Cod League in 2011 slowed when inconsistency took hold in his junior year at Wake Forest. When he reached pro ball after signing for $404,400 as a third-rounder in June, performance finally took over. Cooney had far and away the best stuff on the short-season Batavia staff, according to one evaluator. His solid debut reflected the pitcher the Cardinals saw on the Cape, not the one challenged by flighty command. Cooney's fastball darts from 87-93 mph, sitting around 90. He pitches assertively with his cutter and mixes in an erratic curveball. At its best, his changeup can elicit swings and misses from righthanders. Cooney's control can unravel when he overthrows, but he avoided that at Batavia and issued just eight walks in 56 innings. A potential quick riser, he could advance to high Class A in his first full year as a pro.

Draft Prospects

Undrafted out of high school, Cooney emerged as an early-round prospect last season when he went 7-3, 3.01 with 91 strikeouts and 18 walks in 99 innings for the Deacons. For Chatham in the Cape Cod League last summer, Cooney had 46 strikeouts to just eight walks in 48 innings. His junior season has been a different story, as he's been up and down throughout. In 13 starts he was 5-6, 3.76 with 76 strikeouts and 36 walks in 84 innings. Cooney relies on command, so he has been inconsistent because it has been inconsistent. He has a good delivery but seemed to be overthrowing this year. His fastball ranges from 87-93 mph, and he'll typically sit 88-91. He has good secondary stuff in a cutter, curveball and changeup. The cutter is an out pitch that can sit in the mid-80s, and he uses his changeup against righties. His curveball is inconsistent. Despite a rocky season, scouts like the package Cooney offers and his overall track record, and he still has a good chance to go in the first few rounds.

Minor League Top Prospects

Much like Las Vegas righthander Rafael Montero, Cooney lacks knockout velocity or a plus pitch, but he has the poise, pace and pitchability of a No. 4-type big league starter. Cooney pitches at 88-91 mph from the left side, with a little extra velocity when necessary, and he has a four-pitch package with command of all offerings. Cooney cuts his fastball for run and movement and has two looks for his breaking ball, one a slider, the other a solid-average firm curveball. His changeup draws above-average grades from scouts. "He threw the ball well when I saw him," a rival PCL manager said. "He's kind of one of those lefties who's not going to wow you, but he has three solid pitches. He's an advanced guy with great mound presence . . . (and) he can hit both sides of the plate."
Injuries and roster reshuffling in St. Louis in May led to upward movement for many Cardinals prospects, and Cooney made his Double-A debut much sooner than expected?barely a month into his first full pro season. It went OK, because he made it OK by mixing in four pitches. Cooney never missed a turn in 20 starts, working 12 quality starts to finish with the circuit?s ninth-best ERA. Recruited by Ivy League schools before going to warmer-weather Wake Forest, Cooney is sort of a hybrid lefthander in that he has quality control but he?s also unafraid to challenge righthanders. His fastball sat around 90-92 mph, but he created deception with by mixing in a changeup and cutter. The cutter was a pitch he searched for unsuccessfully his junior year at Wake but tended to over-use early in his TL tenure. By midsummer, he worked more off his fastball and mixed in the cutter. He managed to disguise his change well and snapped off a solid mid-70s curveball. Cooney should get a shot to open next season at Triple-A Memphis, and he drew high marks from manager Mike Shildt, who noted that Cooney paid attention while charting pitches and then executed game plans the next night.
Cooney wasn't quite as good this spring as he was during a standout sophomore year at Wake Forest, but he still showed enough feel for a solid four-pitch mix to get drafted in the third round. He was characteristically steady during his pro debut, though he started to feel some effects of fatigue from a long season. Cooney has a durable frame, a sound delivery and average or slightly better stuff across the board. His fastball sits at 88-92 mph and bumps 93 and plays up because of a quality changeup that induces weak contact from righthanders. His upper-70s curveball has 1-to-7 break and decent depth, and his 82-85 mph cutter/slider gives him a fourth weapon. "He just pitched to contact and really threw us," Graham said. "You can tell he's a competitor. He wants to be out there throwing and he works quick."