Marc Rzepczynski
| IP | 434 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 3.899 |
| WHIP | 1.438 |
| BB/9 | 4.251 |
| SO/9 | 8.482 |
- Full name Marc Walter Rzepczynski
- Born 08/29/1985 in Oak Lawn, IL
- Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 220 / Bats: L / Throws: L
- School UC Riverside
- Debut 07/07/2009
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Drafted in the 5th round (175th overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2007 (signed for $110,000).
View Draft Report
Rzepczynski joins Gonzaga's Clayton Mortensen as two seniors who would be first-five-round picks based solely on talent. That they are seniors (and presumably easier, less expensive signs) will push them up draft boards. Rzepczynski had elbow soreness early in the season but has shown plus stuff since then, making that less of a concern. He was unavailable to the Highlanders in May for their showdown series against Long Beach State and UC Irvine, with first place in the Big West on the line, due to a broken knuckle on his pitching hand. He may have done enough to impress scouts last summer, when he was the No. 4 prospect in the West Coast Collegiate League, and again this spring, particularly in a three-hit shutout of Cal State Fullerton. When he's right, his fastball sits at 88-91 mph and touches 93, and he throws three other pitches for strikes: a low-80s power curveball, a slider that at times touches 84 mph, and a changeup he keeps down in the zone. He had not allowed a home run through 73 innings and was throwing more quality strikes than ever before, as command always had been a major problem. His four-pitch mix profiles him as a middle-of-the-rotation starter.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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In the last three drafts, the Blue Jays have selected four college senior pitchers in the first five rounds (Brandon Magee, Brad Mills, Rzepczynski and Andrew Liebel), believing they could move quickly while simultaneously providing value. Rzepczynski helped pitch Auburn to a league championship in his debut and had a strong 2008 despite missing April with a fracture in his pitching hand. Rzepczynski pounds the bottom of the strike zone with all four of his pitches, as evidenced by his 3.0 groundout/airout ratio in 2008. His sinker sits at 88-90 mph and touches 92 with tremendous tailing life, while his solid-average slider resides at 82-83 and gives him a weapon to the other side of the plate. His sinking changeup grades as an average pitch. Though he got plenty of swings and misses in low Class A, Rzepczynski lacks a true out pitch. His curveball is a tick behind his slider, but he might not need it to be more than a show-me pitch. He's 23 and has yet to pitch above low Class A, so he needs to stay healthy and get going. The Blue Jays will have a better idea of what they have in Rzepczynski if he earns a fast promotion to Double-A in 2009. He's got the stuff to pitch at the back of a big league rotation or as a middle reliever. -
One of the top college senior arms in the 2007 draft, Rzepcynski represented a good value after he signed for $110,000 as a fifth-round pick. He rebounded from elbow soreness and a broken left knuckle during the college season to pitch well in the New York-Penn League, where he teamed with fellow lefties Brett Cecil and Luis Perez in a formidable Auburn rotation. At his best, Rzepcynski throws an 87-89 mph fastball with sink and bore (topping out at 92) and a hard slider, giving him one weapon he can command to each side of the plate. His long, slinging arm action from a three-quarters slot generates plenty of life on his pitches. He locates an average changeup down in the zone, and his competitive makeup makes his stuff play up even further. Rzepcynski showed none of the lapses in command with Auburn that he had early in UC Riverside career. Though he lacks an out pitch, he isn't afraid to throw any pitch in any count, and he profiles as a No. 4 or 5 starter. He'll likely open his first full season in high Class A.
Minor League Top Prospects
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The Fisher Cats had a rough season, in part because their best players didn't stick around for long. In just his second full pro season, Rzepczynski earned a promotion to Toronto and posted a 3.67 ERA in 11 starts. Rzepczynski has a basic repertoire. His four-seam fastball sits in the upper 80s and peaks at 91, and his two-seamer helps him get plenty of groundballs. He has a solid changeup with good sink, and his bread-and-butter pitch is his hard slider, a plus pitch with depth that sometimes reaches 87 mph. "It's a pretty good fastball, but the slider is the separator," Sarbaugh said. "That's a big-time out pitch, and he knows how to pitch with his stuff."
