Ryan Acosta
| IP | 261 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 4.759 |
| WHIP | 1.49 |
| BB/9 | 3.483 |
| SO/9 | 7.724 |
- Full name Ryan D. Acosta
- Born 11/04/1988 in Clearwater, FL
- Profile Ht.: 6'1" / Wt.: 184 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Clearwater Central Catholic
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Drafted in the 12th round (367th overall) by the Chicago Cubs in 2007 (signed for $225,000).
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Righthander Ryan Acosta's father Oscar, who was a Yankees minor league manager, was killed with another Yankees official in a car accident in the Dominican Republic last year. Ryan was lauded for remaining with his high school team after the accident, and could draw interest from teams that like his potential as a pitcher. He played mostly at shortstop as an underclassman and is a good athlete with plus arm strength. His secondary pitches and command are unrefined.
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Rolando Pino has a knack for finding quality late-round arms as a Florida area scout. Pino signed Sean Gallagher as a 12th-rounder in 2004 and Chris Huseby as an 11th-rounder in 2006. His latest coup is Acosta, a 12th-rounder in June who signed for $225,000. The son of former Cubs pitching coach Oscar Acosta, who died in an April 2006 auto accident while working for the Yankees in the Dominican Republic, Ryan pitched in a high school game the night his father was killed, and continues to display maturity and mound presence beyond his years. He was mostly a shortstop until his senior year, and the Cubs think he'll develop rapidly now that he's focusing on pitching. Acosta's fastball sits at 88-90 mph and touches 93, and he should develop plus velocity once his skinny frame fills out. He's more about pitchability than pure stuff, though his stuff is fine. He can backdoor his fastball for strikes, and he shows good command of his curveball, slider and changeup, all of which could be at least average pitches. Acosta also plays around with a splitter, and Chicago probably will have him concentrate on working with just three pitches in 2008. He'll probably eschew his slider in favor of his curve. He repeats his delivery well in part because he's more athletic than most pitchers. He qualified for the Florida state 100-meter finals but had to bow out because of a baseball playoff conflict, and he also played point guard on his high school basketball team. Acosta is so advanced that the Cubs will have no qualms about sending him to low Class A as a 19-year-old.
