Jaime Schultz Stats & Scouting Report

IP	35
ERA	5.914
WHIP	1.257
BB/9	5.143
SO/9	9.771

Full name Jaime Matthew Schultz
Born 06/20/1991 in Albany, NY
Profile Ht.: 5'10" / Wt.: 205 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School High Point
Debut 05/29/2018
Drafted in the 14th round (428th overall) by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013.

View Draft Report

With a 5-foot-10, 200-pound frame, Schultz doesn't stand out physically, but he's athletic and brings an arsenal that plays well out of the bullpen. He has one of liveliest arms in the Carolinas this year and sits 92-93 mph with his fastball, routinely touching 95-96, and he can hold his velocity for several innings. He throws a curveball and slider, both of which are solid power pitches, and has little effort in his delivery. A redshirt junior, he was 1-6, 3.56 in 14 appearances (six starts), and surrendered 42 hits in 61 innings while walking 36 and striking out 59. Because of his height, he doesn't get good downhill plane on his fastball and is prone to getting hit when he leaves the ball up.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

Schultz was on the verge of contributing at the major league level in 2017 before a groin injury suffered in his initial outing of the regular season ruined his year. Undersized for a righthander, Schultz generates pure power with a 94-95 mph fastball that flirts with the upper-90s and possesses hard armside run. He also has a plus swing-and-miss curveball that he throws from different arm slots while generating sharp, late movement. His changeup is solid average, and he uses it primarily as a show pitch. Both command and control are Schultz's greatest shortcomings, although he displayed improvement in those areas when healthy. He projects favorably as a big league reliever who could possibly close if he continues to improve his control.
Schultz wasn't an elite draft prospect when the Rays took a shot at him in the 14th round in 2013, but he has slowly and surely progressed into one of the organization's top arms. His stature may be small, but his stuff is huge. Schultz throws a mid-90s fastball and an exceptionally tight breaking ball, both of which grade as plus. His fastball plays in the strike zone, and his curveball shape varies from 11-to-5 to a more slurvy 10-to-4, consistently showing the late snapping motion to project as a bat-missing offering against even the best breaking ball hitters. Schultz has a fast arm and relatively long arm action and he struggles to repeat the mechanics of his lower half, which results in bouts of wildness. He did, however, reduce his walk rate by more than a batter per inning when he reached Triple-A in 2016, encouraging some evaluators that he could eventually develop the control necessary to be a starter long term. If Schultz's control doesn't continue to improve, his stuff is still good enough for him to find a role as an effectively wild late-inning reliever.
In terms of pure stuff, Schultz may be unparalleled in the Rays system. Scouts grade two of his pitches as plus or double-plus. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and has hit as high as 99 mph on the gun. He also throws a tight-spinning breaking ball that shows the ability to generate swings and misses down in the zone. After missing time in 2014 with an appendectomy and groin issue, Schultz had an injury-free, breakout 2015 at Double-A Montgomery, striking out 11.2 batters per nine innings to rank second in the minors. That success came in spite of an alarmingly high walk rate. Schultz ranked second-worst in the minors with 6.0 free passes per nine, and he led the Southern League in both strikeouts (168) and walks (90, which led the minors). He has a long arm swing in his delivery, and his exceptional arm speed can be difficult to keep in sync. Schultz, who had Tommy John surgery in college, has worked on developing body control and keeping himself over the rubber long enough for his arm to catch up. His lack of control, as well as his undersized 5-foot-10 frame, lead many evaluators to picture him as a late-inning reliever similar to the Indians' Cody Allen, who also attended High Point and has a similar pitch mix. Schultz should reach Triple-A Durham to open 2016.

Draft Prospects

With a 5-foot-10, 200-pound frame, Schultz doesn't stand out physically, but he's athletic and brings an arsenal that plays well out of the bullpen. He has one of liveliest arms in the Carolinas this year and sits 92-93 mph with his fastball, routinely touching 95-96, and he can hold his velocity for several innings. He throws a curveball and slider, both of which are solid power pitches, and has little effort in his delivery. A redshirt junior, he was 1-6, 3.56 in 14 appearances (six starts), and surrendered 42 hits in 61 innings while walking 36 and striking out 59. Because of his height, he doesn't get good downhill plane on his fastball and is prone to getting hit when he leaves the ball up.