Kevin Ziomek Stats & Scouting Report

IP	290
ERA	3.072
WHIP	1.166
BB/9	2.886
SO/9	9.279

Full name Kevin Matthew Ziomek
Born 03/21/1992 in Springfield, MA
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 200 / Bats: R / Throws: L
School Vanderbilt
Drafted in the 2nd round (58th overall) by the Detroit Tigers in 2013 (signed for $956,600).

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Vanderbilt has had seven lefthanded pitchers drafted in the first three rounds since 2004, including Cy Young Award winner David Price and Braves starter Mike Minor. An unsigned 13th-rounder out of a Massachusetts high school in 2010, Ziomek has filled out and added 20 pounds to his athletic 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame. He still generally has the same velocity, but he has added pitchability and maturity in three seasons with the Commodores. A preseason third-team All-American after a successful summer in the Cape Cod League, Ziomek was Vanderbilt's Friday starter and had limited opponents to a .174 average. He has overcome a bit of a wrap in the back of his delivery to throw plenty of strikes, but his fastball still comes in around 89-92 mph, having touched 93-94 earlier in the year. He locates his fastball inside to righthanded hitters, and his arm action and cross-body delivery add deception. Ziomek's changeup flashed plus last summer but has not been that kind of pitch this spring. His slider plays average and is notable more for sweeping action than for its depth. Ziomek grades out as a third-round pick or lower for some scouts, but he figures to go higher thanks to his athleticism and strong season.

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Ziomek pitched three years at Vanderbilt, including a trip to the College World Series in 2011, before the Tigers drafted him in the second round in 2013 and signed him for $956,000. He then moved curiously slowly for a polished college arm. He debuted in short-season Connecticut, then spent all of 2014 at low Class A West Michigan and all of 2015 at high Class A Lakeland. Ziomek felt numbness and tingling in his hands and fingers this spring and was eventually diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome and had surgery to fix the problem. He threw just 4.1 innings all year but was throwing bullpen sessions during the instructional league. At his best, Ziomek has a low-90s fastball with downhill plane that gets grounders with regularity. He also throws an above-average changeup, an average slider and a fringe-average curveball. The Tigers anticipate Ziomek being ready for spring training, after which he should advance to Double-A Erie if everything goes according to plan.
After pitching for Vanderbilt, Ziomek signed with the Tigers for $956,600 as a second-round pick in 2013. For a fairly polished college draft pick, he has moved surprisingly slowly through the system one level at a time, leading the low Class A Midwest League in ERA (2.27) in 2014, then spending all of 2015 in the high Class A Florida State League, which he led with 143 strikeouts. While Michael Fulmer and Beau Burrows have high-octane stuff to blow hitters away, Ziomek relies more on his feel for pitching and a repertoire of solid stuff across the board. His fastball jumped slightly in 2015, sitting at 89-92 mph and touching 94 with good life and downhill plane, helping him generate groundballs. His changeup lagged in college, but he threw it with much more frequency in 2015 and it now flashes as a tick above-average pitch. He throws an average slider and a fringy curveball, though they can get sweepy and run together. Ziomek throws slightly across his body and isn't smooth with his mechanics, but it adds to his deception and he repeats his delivery, which makes him a prolific strike-thrower. Ziomek is ready for Double-A and could reach Detroit by the end of the season if the organization wants to push him. He could eventually slot into the back of the rotation.
Ziomek passed on signing with the Diamondbacks as a 13th-round pick out of high school in 2010. Instead he went to Vanderbilt, followed in the footsteps of Commodores lefties David Price and Mike Minor, then signed with the Tigers for $956,600 as a second-rounder in 2013. In his first full season, Ziomek led the low Class A Midwest League in ERA (2.27) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.1), though it's unusual that an organization that normally promotes its prospects aggressively left the fairly polished 22-year-old at West Michigan all season. Ziomek doesn't overpower with his arsenal, relying instead on mixing his pitches and hitting his spots. He throws strikes, works quickly and moves his 87-92 mph fastball around the strike zone with average life and good downhill angle. His low-80s slider is an average pitch, though it can get sweepy on him. His changeup is another average pitch. He adds and subtracts from his fringy curveball, throwing it with more velocity later in the count. His delivery isn't smooth, but his funkiness creates deception. Ziomek earns comparisons with former Tiger Drew Smyly, himself a second-round college lefty, though Smyly had made it to Double-A at the same age. Ziomek figures to advance to high Class A Lakeland in 2015 and could develop into a back-end starter.
Vanderbilt has become a factory for lefthanders over the past decade, most notably for 2012 American League Cy Young Award winner David Price and the Braves' Mike Minor. Ziomek became the school's eighth lefty drafted in the top three rounds since 2004 when the Tigers selected him in the second round in 2013 and signed him for $956,600. He pitched briefly in the short-season New York-Penn League, with all four of his starts limited to two innings to keep his workload down. Ziomek doesn't have one put-away pitch but his stuff is steady across the board, including a fastball that parks at 88-92 mph and hits 94. He showed an above-average changeup in 2012 in the Cape Cod League, where he pitched well after a down year as a sophomore, but it was an inconsistent pitch his junior year. His slider can be an average pitch, with more sweep than bite. Ziomek is an athletic pitcher with some mechanical hickeys, including a wrap in his arm action and a crossfire delivery, which may contribute to inconsistent command, but it does enhance deception. Ziomek doesn't wow scouts with stuff but has the potential to fit into the back of a rotation. He could be ticketed for high Class A Lakeland in 2014.

Draft Prospects

Vanderbilt has had seven lefthanded pitchers drafted in the first three rounds since 2004, including Cy Young Award winner David Price and Braves starter Mike Minor. An unsigned 13th-rounder out of a Massachusetts high school in 2010, Ziomek has filled out and added 20 pounds to his athletic 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame. He still generally has the same velocity, but he has added pitchability and maturity in three seasons with the Commodores. A preseason third-team All-American after a successful summer in the Cape Cod League, Ziomek was Vanderbilt's Friday starter and had limited opponents to a .174 average. He has overcome a bit of a wrap in the back of his delivery to throw plenty of strikes, but his fastball still comes in around 89-92 mph, having touched 93-94 earlier in the year. He locates his fastball inside to righthanded hitters, and his arm action and cross-body delivery add deception. Ziomek's changeup flashed plus last summer but has not been that kind of pitch this spring. His slider plays average and is notable more for sweeping action than for its depth. Ziomek grades out as a third-round pick or lower for some scouts, but he figures to go higher thanks to his athleticism and strong season.