Sam Runion
| IP | 629 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 4.936 |
| WHIP | 1.458 |
| BB/9 | 2.704 |
| SO/9 | 6.41 |
- Full name Samuel Edward Runion
- Born 11/09/1988 in Asheville, NC
- Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 220 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School A.C. Reynolds
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Drafted in the 2nd round (66th overall) by the Kansas City Royals in 2007 (signed for $504,000).
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North Carolina's crop of talent is better than it has been in years, and Runion is among the top high school players among a deep second-tier class of prospects. He played alongside crosstown rival Justin Jackson for the Midland (Ohio) Redskins travel team and was one of three Aflac All-Americans from the state, joining Jackson and lefty Madison Bumgarner. It was against Bumgarner that Runion made his best impression as a senior, as he matched up with him in a conference game in Asheville that drew a bevy of national crosscheckers and a handful of scouting directors. Sam's father Larry was a lefthanded pitcher at Union (Tenn.) University. Sam played tight end on Reynolds' football team as a freshman and sophomore, and it's his big, broad-shouldered frame that attracts scouts. Runion offers a good feel for pitching as well as a hard, heavy fastball that sits near 90 mph with good sinking action. He throws from a three-quarters arm slot and tends to drop down, leading to hanging sliders. When he stays on top of his slider, it has hard, late break. He shows feel for a changeup, but profiles best as a durable long reliever or set-up man in the mold of Dan Wheeler.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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Asheville, N.C., has been a hot destination for scouts in recent years, as Cameron Maybin, Justin Jackson and Runion have gone in the top two rounds of the last four drafts. As a senior in 2007, Runion outdueled Madison Bumgarner in an April start that helped cement his status as a premium prospect. The Royals knew when they drafted Runion that he was somewhat raw and would require patience, and that has been the case. He has a lively fastball that generally sits at 91-92 mph and touches 94. When he keeps his arm angle up, he gets good downward plane on his heater. His lack of a consistent breaking ball led to him getting shelled in low Class A last year, but he showed improvement after a demotion. Runion's curveball is best when he slows down and snaps it off with 11-to-5 break. In the Midwest League, he started dropping his arm and trying to throw his breaking ball with more velocity, and it became a slurvy slider with some sweep. Runion has a little bit of feel for a changeup, but he doesn't replicate his fastball arm speed when throwing it. Runion has the stuff to be a power reliever, but the Royals look at his body and fastball and see a reason to keep developing him as a starter. While he needs to refine his stuff, he has done a good job of finding the strike zone. He'll take a second crack at low Class A in 2009. -
Runion was the first of three consecutive high school pitchers taken by the Royals in the 2007 draft, an indication of the team's commitment to developing young arms. Though outshone by fellow '07 selections Danny Duffy (third) and Matt Mitchell (14th) in the Arizona League last summer, Runion's stuff was better than his lofty ERA indicated. Signed for $504,000 as a second-rounder, he showed one of the better fastballs in the Arizona League, a 90-94 mph offering that jumps on hitters with late life and movement. And he may have more in the tank as he fills out. His secondary pitches remain a work in progress, including a changeup, slider and a sloppy curveball. Runion throws from a three-quarters arm slot and was working in instructional league to get tighter rotation on his offspeed and breaking pitches while maintaining his arm speed. Though his stuff may play better out of the bullpen in the short term, the Royals want to give him a chance to develop his secondary pitches and think he'll have the durability to be a starter. He'll likely join Duffy and Mitchell in the low Class A rotation in 2008.
Minor League Top Prospects
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A second-round pick out of a North Carolina high school in 2007, Runion got crushed in low Class A (2-5, 5.75) to open this season before landing in the Appy League in June. Rookie ball agreed with him more, and he showed the potential to become a mid-rotation starter or set-up reliever if he can harness his heater. Runion has a lively fastball that sat at 90-92 mph and touches 94, and he uses his 6-foot-4 frame to throw it on a good, downward plane. His three-quarters arm slot hasn't been especially conducive to the development of his curveball, which remains a below-average pitch. He shows some feel for a changeup, though as with his curve, he has a tendency to slow his arm down when he throws it. -
The Royals had several raw players whose tools outstripped their performance, such as Puerto Rican third baseman Fernando Cruz and Canadian righthander Peter Hodge Nielsen. Runion was the best of the group, though he's still far from consistent. He pitched five scoreless innings in his first two outings and threw six zeroes at the Cubs in his best start, but also had five starts in which he allowed more runs than innings. Runion's sinker-slider approach worked when he maintained his delivery and stayed on top of his pitches, and his feel for throwing strikes with his 88-90 mph fastball allowed him to average a strikeout per inning. He'll have to be more consistent with his release point and use his projectable 6-foot-4 frame more to his advantage.
