Jason Hursh Stats & Scouting Report

IP	12
ERA	8.25
WHIP	2
BB/9	5.25
SO/9	6

Full name Jason Brewster Hursh
Born 10/02/1991 in Dallas, TX
Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Oklahoma State
Debut 08/13/2016
Drafted in the 1st round (31st overall) by the Atlanta Braves in 2013 (signed for $1,704,200).

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The Pirates failed to sign four high school arms in 2010 who should go in the top five rounds of the 2013 draft. Hursh, a sixth-rounder out of a Texas high school, is the best prospect of that group, which also includes Austin Kubitza (seventh round, now at Rice), Dace Kime (eighth round, Louisville) and Kent Emanuel (19th, North Carolina). Hursh pitched just 30 innings as a freshman in 2011 and missed last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. His velocity returned last summer, when he hit 103 mph according to the (notoriously juiced) scoreboard at the National Baseball Congress World Series. He has continued to light up radar guns as a redshirt sophomore, throwing 92-98 mph and sitting in mid-90s with little effort. Add in heavy life and late tail on his fastball, and it's one of the most devastating pitches in the draft. Hursh still is developing feel for his secondary pitches, as he flashes an average slider and a decent changeup. He can live off his fastball, but hitters will sit on it until he develops a reliable No. 2 offering. There are durability concerns due to his 6-foot-1, 197-pound frame and his medical history, though he has improved his delivery and arm action since getting hurt.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Several scouts believed Hursh's future resided in the bullpen when the Braves drafted him 31st overall out of Oklahoma State in 2013. The righthander missed his sophomore season after having Tommy John surgery, but he rebounding in his final campaign with the Cowboys. After going 2-6, 5.63 and allowing opponents to hit .338 through 15 starts, Hursh moved to the bullpen and recorded a 2.25 ERA and .257 average, including his time at Triple-A Gwinnett. Since moving to the bullpen, his fastball has improved to 94-98 mph with heavy sinking action and some armside run. His hard changeup arrives with split action, and his overhand curveball continues to improve but is not consistent enough to go through a lineup multiple times. Hursh's plus makeup, aggressiveness and ability to work down in the zone to generate groundballs make him a possible candidate to work as a set-up reliever. Refinement of his secondary pitches and command would make Hursh a strong candidate to contribute in the Atlanta bullpen in 2016.
An unsigned 2010 sixth-round pick out of high school just north of Dallas, Hursh spurned the Pirates and went to Oklahoma State, where he had to have Tommy John surgery in 2012. The Braves had interest in him out of high school but correctly considered him unsignable. They took Hursh 31st overall in 2013 and pushed him to Double-A Mississippi a year later, when he earned the organization's pitcher of the year award. Hursh is a big, strong and durable pitcher who works quickly and throws on a downhill plane, producing quality low strikes. His fastball sits in the 91-93 mph range and touches 95 with armside run and occasional cutting action. His overhand curveball was inconsistent in 2014, but he showed the ability to change speeds with the pitch while throwing it for strikes. His changeup has a chance to develop into a plus offering with his above-average feel for the pitch. By pounding the lower part of the strike zone with his heavy artillery, Hursh forces batters to hit the ball on the ground and was among the minors' stingiest pitchers for home runs allowed. The Braves love Hursh's confident demeanor and his overall feel for pitching. With the Atlanta rotation projected to be stocked in 2015, Hursh should spend the year at Triple-A Gwinnett. Some scouts believe his future could be in the bullpen, which could get him to the big leagues earlier. If not he looks like a quality No. 4 starter.
The Braves scouted Hursh heavily as a Dallas-area prep but correctly gauged that he was not signable. The Pirates took him in the sixth round in 2010 but didn't sign him. After pitching 30 innings as a freshman at Oklahoma State, Hursh missed 2012 after having Tommy John surgery, returning to the mound as a redshirt sophomore and going 6-5, 2.79 for the Cowboys. The Braves picked him 31st overall in 2013 and signed him for just more than $1.7 million. Hursh's best offering is a mid-90s fastball with heavy life and a late tail that made it one of the most intriguing pitches in the 2013 draft. He has touched 98 mph and generates easy heat after improving his delivery and arm action in college and fine-tuning his mechanics with Braves coaches. His secondary pitches need work, though he shows a decent feel for both his slider and changeup. He commands the strike zone well, works fast, and coaxes plenty of groundball outs, as evidenced by his near 2-to-1 groundout-airout ratio in nine starts at low Class A Rome. The Braves believe Hursh has a low-mileage arm with tremendous upside once he improves his secondary pitches. Some scouts consider him a potential high-leverage reliever, but Atlanta's plans center on keeping him in the rotation. He will likely start 2014 at high Class A Lynchburg but could make the jump to Double-A Mississippi early in the season.

Draft Prospects

The Pirates failed to sign four high school arms in 2010 who should go in the top five rounds of the 2013 draft. Hursh, a sixth-rounder out of a Texas high school, is the best prospect of that group, which also includes Austin Kubitza (seventh round, now at Rice), Dace Kime (eighth round, Louisville) and Kent Emanuel (19th, North Carolina). Hursh pitched just 30 innings as a freshman in 2011 and missed last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. His velocity returned last summer, when he hit 103 mph according to the (notoriously juiced) scoreboard at the National Baseball Congress World Series. He has continued to light up radar guns as a redshirt sophomore, throwing 92-98 mph and sitting in mid-90s with little effort. Add in heavy life and late tail on his fastball, and it's one of the most devastating pitches in the draft. Hursh still is developing feel for his secondary pitches, as he flashes an average slider and a decent changeup. He can live off his fastball, but hitters will sit on it until he develops a reliable No. 2 offering. There are durability concerns due to his 6-foot-1, 197-pound frame and his medical history, though he has improved his delivery and arm action since getting hurt.