Kevin Kopps Stats & Scouting Report

IP	50.2
ERA	5.86
WHIP	1.88
BB/9	6.75
SO/9	5.86

Full name Kevin Richard Kopps
Born 03/02/1997 in Houston, TX
Profile Ht.: 6'0" / Wt.: 200 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Arkansas
Drafted in the 3rd round (99th overall) by the San Diego Padres in 2021 (signed for $300,000).

View Draft Report

Kopps has carried a starter’s workload as a moment-of-truth reliever for the nation’s No. 1 team. In the NCAA regionals, Kopps threw 13.1 scoreless innings and 185 pitches in four days to get two wins and a save in three appearances. After NCAA regionals he led the nation with a 0.68 ERA. Kopps has one plus pitch, but it’s an exceptional offering. Even college hitters that know he’s going to throw his plus-plus mid-80s slider/cutter can’t lay off of it. He can throw it for strikes, where its late movement still makes it tough to hit. And when he gets to two strikes, he can lower his target and watch hitters swing over an almost unhittable slider in the dirt. Kopps throws his below-average 88-92 mph fastball just 24% of the time overall and just 17% of the time when he’s in a two-strike count. He will mix in a below-average slow (mid 70s) curveball and he’s toyed with a fringe-average changeup that is effective because of the surprise factor. This is Kopps’ fifth season at Arkansas (he redshirted one year and then received a medical redshirt as he recovered from Tommy John surgery). He is already 24 years old. A team picking him will expect him to move quite quickly, but considering his workload this spring, any pro team signing him will have to consider shutting him down until 2022 because of his heavy usage. He should move quickly, but there are some doubts that his dominance will translate effectively to pro ball.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Track Record: Kopps missed all of 2018 at Arkansas after having Tommy John surgery and struggled during the shortened 2020 season, but he rebounded with a historic season for the Razorbacks in 2021. He went 12-1 with 11 saves, 131 strikeouts and an NCAA-best 0.90 ERA in 89.2 innings as a super reliever and won the Golden Spikes Award. As a sixth-year senior who was already 24 years old, Kopps fell to the Padres in the third round of the draft. He signed for a below-slot $300,000 and finished the year in Double-A San Antonio’s bullpen.

Scouting Report: Kopps relies overwhelmingly on one pitch: a gyro-like cutter/slider in the mid-80s with downward break. He throws it nearly 75% of the time and batters still struggle to hit it even when they know it is coming. Kopps locates the pitch extremely well and batters have trouble identifying it with the way it tunnels off of his 88-92 mph fastball. Kopps occasionally mixes in a below-average curveball that sits in the mid-70s and has toyed with a fringe-average changeup, but his slider is what determines his success.

The Future: Kopps will turn 25 before Opening Day and doesn’t have much development left. He’ll likely start the year in the upper levels and could crack the Padres bullpen by the end of the season.

Draft Prospects

Kopps has carried a starter’s workload as a moment-of-truth reliever for the nation’s No. 1 team. In the NCAA regionals, Kopps threw 13.1 scoreless innings and 185 pitches in four days to get two wins and a save in three appearances. After NCAA regionals he led the nation with a 0.68 ERA. Kopps has one plus pitch, but it’s an exceptional offering. Even college hitters that know he’s going to throw his plus-plus mid-80s slider/cutter can’t lay off of it. He can throw it for strikes, where its late movement still makes it tough to hit. And when he gets to two strikes, he can lower his target and watch hitters swing over an almost unhittable slider in the dirt. Kopps throws his below-average 88-92 mph fastball just 24% of the time overall and just 17% of the time when he’s in a two-strike count. He will mix in a below-average slow (mid 70s) curveball and he’s toyed with a fringe-average changeup that is effective because of the surprise factor. This is Kopps’ fifth season at Arkansas (he redshirted one year and then received a medical redshirt as he recovered from Tommy John surgery). He is already 24 years old. A team picking him will expect him to move quite quickly, but considering his workload this spring, any pro team signing him will have to consider shutting him down until 2022 because of his heavy usage. He should move quickly, but there are some doubts that his dominance will translate effectively to pro ball.

Scouting Reports

BA Grade: 40/High

Track Record: Kopps missed all of 2018 at Arkansas after having Tommy John surgery and struggled during the shortened 2020 season, but he rebounded with a historic season for the Razorbacks in 2021. He went 12-1 with 11 saves, 131 strikeouts and an NCAA-best 0.90 ERA in 89.2 innings as a super reliever and won the Golden Spikes Award. As a sixth-year senior who was already 24 years old, Kopps fell to the Padres in the third round of the draft. He signed for a below-slot $300,000 and finished the year in Double-A San Antonio&#39s bullpen.

Scouting Report: Kopps relies overwhelmingly on one pitch: a gyro-like cutter/slider in the mid-80s with downward break. He throws nearly 75% of the time and batters still struggle to hit it even when they know it is coming. Kopps locates the pitch extremely well and batters have trouble identifying it with the way it tunnels off of his 88-82 mph fastball. Kopps occasionally mixes in a below-average curveball that sits in the mid-70s and has toyed with a fringe-average changeup, but his slider is what determines his success.

The Future: Kopps will turn 25 before Opening Day and doesn&#39t have much development left. He&#39ll likely start the year in the upper levels and could crack the Padres bullpen by the end of the season.
Track Record: Kopps missed all of 2018 at Arkansas after having Tommy John surgery and struggled during the shortened 2020 season, but he rebounded with a historic season for the Razorbacks in 2021. He went 12-1 with 11 saves, 131 strikeouts and an NCAA-best 0.90 ERA in 89.2 innings as a super reliever and won the Golden Spikes Award. As a sixth-year senior who was already 24 years old, Kopps fell to the Padres in the third round of the draft. He signed for a below-slot $300,000 and finished the year in Double-A San Antonio’s bullpen.

Scouting Report: Kopps relies overwhelmingly on one pitch: a gyro-like cutter/slider in the mid-80s with downward break. He throws it nearly 75% of the time and batters still struggle to hit it even when they know it is coming. Kopps locates the pitch extremely well and batters have trouble identifying it with the way it tunnels off of his 88-92 mph fastball. Kopps occasionally mixes in a below-average curveball that sits in the mid-70s and has toyed with a fringe-average changeup, but his slider is what determines his success.

The Future: Kopps will turn 25 before Opening Day and doesn’t have much development left. He’ll likely start the year in the upper levels and could crack the Padres bullpen by the end of the season.
Kopps has carried a starter's workload as a moment-of-truth reliever for the nation's No. 1 team. In the NCAA regionals, Kopps threw 13.1 scoreless innings and 185 pitches in four days to get two wins and a save in three appearances. After NCAA regionals he led the nation with a 0.68 ERA. Kopps has one plus pitch, but it's an exceptional offering. Even college hitters that know he's going to throw his plus-plus mid-80s slider/cutter can't lay off of it. He can throw it for strikes, where its late movement still makes it tough to hit. And when he gets to two strikes, he can lower his target and watch hitters swing over an almost unhittable slider in the dirt. Kopps throws his below-average 88-92 mph fastball just 24% of the time overall and just 17% of the time when he's in a two-strike count. He will mix in a below-average slow (mid 70s) curveball and he's toyed with a fringe-average changeup that is effective because of the surprise factor. This is Kopps' fifth season at Arkansas (he redshirted one year and then received a medical redshirt as he recovered from Tommy John surgery). He is already 24 years old. A team picking him will expect him to move quite quickly, but considering his workload this spring, any pro team signing him will have to consider shutting him down until 2022 because of his heavy usage. He should move quickly, but there are some doubts that his dominance will translate effectively to pro ball.