Kyle Crick

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #18 prospect in 2018
  One of the few bright spots in the brutal Giants season was Crick's return from the wilderness of wildness. Once the team's top prospect, Crick's control troubles got the best of his stuff for years and he had to gear down to try to throw strikes. Crick moved full-time to the bullpen in 2017 and responded by reaching the big leagues. He hasn't fixed his control problems as much as he's tamed them just enough to be effective. He still battles bouts of wildness and struggles to get through innings cleanly, but his lively, plus 95-98 mph fastball is good enough to get swings and misses even if he's not dotting the corners. His starter's background allowed the Giants to feel comfortable using him for two innings or more out of the pen. His low-80s average slider is generally a chase pitch, and he will mix in a hard 88-90 mph fringe-average changeup to lefties. Crick's stuff is big league caliber, and if he can continue to have even fringy control he could have a lengthy career as a setup man.
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  Ranked San Francisco Giants #27 prospect in 2016
  Crick probably never will reach the heights that were forecasted when he dominated over the second half of the season at low Class A Augusta in 2012. His arm still is every bit as impressive as it was then, but Crick's inability to throw strikes has become more acute, and he walked 66 batters in 63 innings at Double-A Richmond in 2015. The Giants have tried most everything to get Crick straightened out, but at this point he looks to be buried by paralysis by analysis. He still can reach for 96-97 mph when he wants it, but he often dials back to 90-94 to try to locate better. Even at that velocity, he will miss badly and seemingly with no pattern to diagnose. He struggles with his direction to the plate at times, but his arm action is relatively clean. Crick's slider is an average offering that can generate swings and misses at times, but his changeup is below-average and little seen because poor control makes it hard to get to his secondary stuff. The Giants moved Crick to the bullpen in 2015, but he shows less command from the stretch than he does from the windup. The Giants have not given up on Crick's impressive arm, and they added him to the 40-man roster in November, but the one-time system No. 1 prospect is now a lottery ticket.
• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #3 prospect in 2015
  Crick was better known as an infielder and defensive end at Sherman (Texas) High until his senior season. Once he got on the mound in 2011, he showed scouts where his future lay, for he dominated with a fastball that touched 97 mph. Crick has had one of the best arms in the Giants system since the day he signed as a sandwich pick, while also mixing dominant stints with ones where he can't find the strike zone. Crick still has the best pure stuff in the Giants system, and when he's on he's nearly unhittable. Crick's fastball will touch 98 mph at times, but he's generally better off when he pitches at 93-96 with better control. His control comes and goes from batter to batter and pitch to pitch. He can get 0-2 on a batter, then lose him with four straight balls. The Giants have worked on trying to get Crick to shorten his stride because his arm often is trying to catch up to his body, but so far it hasn't clicked, leaving him with well below-average control. Crick's hard 86-89 mph cutter/slider is his best secondary pitch and flashes at least average. His fringy mid-80s changeup with a late sink also has improved, and his 80-82 mph curveball is a usable below-average offering. Crick's control problems and inability to work deep in games makes it highly unlikely he'll be a big league starter, but the Giants will keep trying. San Francisco's lack of starting-pitching prospects gives them incentive to keep Crick in a starting role in 2015.
• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #1 prospect in 2014
  The Giants have a lot more invested in Crick than just the $900,000 he received as the 49th overall pick in 2011. He has the highest ceiling among a wave of pitching prospects the Giants must rely upon to create a foundation for future success in the National League West. Crick has a low-mileage arm because he mostly played first base in high school and didn't concentrate on pitching until he hit 94 mph on the showcase circuit. The Giants loved his size, competitiveness, arm speed and the life on his pitches, and weren't concerned that his mechanics needed to be cleaned up. He has made the transition from a short-arm delivery to smoother, more repeatable mechanics, but his progress was interrupted when he strained an oblique in his third start of the season for high Class A San Jose in 2013 and missed two months. When he got healthy, he more than made up for lost time. In his first start back on June 21, the 20-year-old struck out 10 in four shutout innings and kept on pumping his power stuff the rest of the season and into the Arizona Fall League. Crick's fastball is a 70 pitch that is as lively as it is hard. He draws natural comparisons with Matt Cain from coaches who saw the Giants ace when he was a teenager. Crick ran his fastball up to 98 mph at times, but it's his ability to maintain mid-90s velocity past 80 pitches that sets him apart from so many other live arms. Crick's strong and athletic build reminds some coaches of 1999 first-rounder Kurt Ainsworth. He drops his arms as he starts from the windup and separates his hands late, making up for it with tremendous arm speed. That gives him a bit of deception to go along with power stuff that seemingly explodes out of his hand. Crick threw a slider in high school, but his curveball became a better breaking pitch. Managers in the low Class A South Atlantic League in 2012 voted it best breaking pitch, even though he basically used it as a show-me offering while learning to throw it dependably for strikes. Crick didn't throw the curve nearly as often as coaches would have preferred, because his fastball was too overpowering. Scouts project him to have a solid-average changeup. His stuff is so live, he's unlikely to ever have great command, but scouts project him to have average control as he gains experience. Cain reached the big leagues before his 21st birthday, but it's difficult to imagine Crick being ready so soon--especially after the oblique injury limited him to just 69 innings at San Jose. He has only 187 professional innings under his belt and has issued 5.5 walks per nine innings, so Crick has to work on throwing quality strikes and trusting his offspeed pitches. The Giants sent him to the AFL to log additional innings, and after initial struggles, he struck out 24 in 16 innings. He's ready to move up to Double-A Richmond in 2014.
• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #1 prospect in 2013
  The Giants weren't shy about throwing out Matt Cain comparisons when they spent the 49th overall pick in the 2011 draft on Crick. Over the course of his first full pro, he convinced most coaches, managers and roving intsructors that his fastball was firmer and had more movement than Cain's did at the same stage a decade ago. If that wasn't impressive enough, Crick remains relatively new to the mound. He mostly played first base in high school and didn't concentrate on pitching until he hit 94 mph on the showcase circuit before his senior season. San Francisco loved his size, arm speed and the life on his pitches, and wasn't concerned that his mechanics needed to be cleaned up. A $900,000 bonus bought out a commitment to Texas Christian and delivered a perfect project for vice president of player personnel Dick Tidrow and pitching coordinator Bert Bradley. They turned Crick from a short-arming, max-effort thrower into a pitcher who could stay within a smoother delivery. By the end of 2012, he got better at correcting himself mid-inning when he got off track. Competing as a 19-year-old in low Class A, Crick recorded a 4.05 ERA in his first nine starts, when his pitch counts soared before he could get deep into games. Then he didn't allow an earned run in June and finished with a 1.91 ERA over the final three months before hitting his innings limit. Crick maintains a 93-95 mph into the late innings and can reach 99 mph. He combines strength, stamina and athleticism, creating plenty of leverage as he drives down the mound with his long, powerful legs. He drops his arms as he starts from the windup and separates his hands late, which isn't a problem because of his arm speed. His delivery gives him a bit of deception to go along with power stuff that seemingly explodes out of his hand. Crick threw a slider in high school but now operates with a hard curveball. Managers voted it the best breaking ball in the South Atlantic League last summer, even though he basically used it as a show-me offering while learning to throw it for strikes. His changeup became his most dependable offspeed pitch by the end of the year and will be a key to his success as a starter. Crick benefited from pitching in the same Augusta rotation as Clayton Blackburn, a fellow 2011 high school draftee who had an advanced feel for four pitches. "That was the best thing to happen to him, to sit in the stands and chart Blackburn," Bradley said. Crick doesn't have anywhere near Blackburn's command, though. He walked 5.4 batters per nine innings and tended to labor and overanalyze when he had trouble locating his pitches. He also overthrows when things don't go is way, something he'll address as he matures. He's extremely competitive, which leads to occasional battles with coaches when he wants to stay in games. He's intelligent and inquisitive, always trying to soak up knowledge. After giving up Zack Wheeler in a short-sighted trade with the Mets for Carlos Beltran in 2011, the Giants now have another frontline starter in the making. Crick will be part of one of the minors' most talented rotations at high Class A San Jose in 2013, and San Francisco won't be far off if he improves his control and consistency. Cain made his debut before his 21st birthday, after all.
• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #8 prospect in 2012
  The Giants are seldom wrong when they spend a high draft pick on a high school pitcher. Crick, a 2011 sandwich pick who signed for $900,000, has every bit as much projection as Matt Cain did nearly a decade ago. Not only does he have size and athleticism, but Crick also has a low-mileage arm. He didn't concentrate on pitching until his senior season, spending more time as a first baseman and a defensive end in football. Crick's fastball already sits easily in the low 90s and reaches as high as 97, and he has the chance to throw even harder once he cleans up his delivery and gets more on line to the plate. He has long, powerful legs and uses them to drive off the mound. His slider is his best secondary pitch, though it features more sweep than bite. At times he throws a curveball with good depth and tilt, but not consistently for strikes. His changeup is in the early stages and he also has tried throwing a forkball. His command is a work in progress as well. Though the young Texan is a long ways off, with Zack Wheeler gone in the Carlos Beltran trade, Crick is the best power arm in a system that usually knows what to do with them. He has the ceiling of a No. 2 starter.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked California League #3 prospect in 2013
  Crick made three starts in April, then missed the next two months with a strained oblique. Losing out on that added experience was the only real downside to his season, as the 20-year-old dominated Cal League hitters after returning in June, not allowing more than three earned runs in any start. Crick has the arsenal to pitch at the front of a big league rotation, headlined by a fastball at 95-97 mph with late life. His slider can be inconsistent at times, but it has all the makings of a swing-and-miss major league pitch when he has it going. The slider comes in hard with the right shape and late bite, a true put-away pitch that helped him rack up 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Crick made progress with his changeup this season, learning to soften its arrival after tinkering with the grip. He showed enough confidence and feel for it to not shy away from using it as the situation dictated. Crick has a power pitcher?s frame and fluid delivery, though he doesn?t always repeat his delivery and his command requires further polish.
• 
  Ranked South Atlantic League #7 prospect in 2012
  Crick didn't concentrate on pitching until his senior year in high school in 2011, so he's far from a finished product. He's still learning how to harness his fastball, though at 94-99 mph it's hard for hitters to handle as well. Scouts like the fact that Crick throws his offspeed pitches for strikes even when he struggles with his control of his fastball. He has an effective slider, though he's working to make it sharper and less sweepy. He also has made strides with his changeup and trusts it more than ever. "He's got a bright future ahead of him," Augusta manager Lipso Nava said. "He is blessed with a great arm. He's raw, but we accomplished what we wanted for him this season. He got better for the next level. He's got a great head on his shoulders, and he will accomplish his goals pretty soon."

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #33 prospect in 2014
• Ranked Baseball America's #66 prospect in 2013

• December, 2012 Scouting Report
  Background: The Giants weren't shy about throwing out Matt Cain comparisons when they spent the 49th overall pick in the 2011 draft on Crick. Over the course of his first full pro season, he convinced most coaches, managers and roving intsructors that his fastball was firmer and had more movement than Cain's did at the same stage a decade ago. If that wasn't impressive enough, Crick remains relatively new to the mound. He mostly played first base in high school and didn't concentrate on pitching until he hit 94 mph on the showcase circuit before his senior season. San Francisco loved his size, arm speed and the life on his pitches, and wasn't concerned that his mechanics needed to be cleaned up. A $900,000 bonus bought out a commitment to Texas Christian and delivered a perfect project for vice president of player personnel Dick Tidrow and pitching coordinator Bert Bradley. They turned Crick from a short-arming, max-effort thrower into a pitcher who could stay within a smoother delivery. Competing as a 19-year-old in low Class A, Crick recorded a 4.05 ERA in his first nine starts, when his pitch counts soared before he could get deep into games. Then he didn't allow an earned run in June and finished with a 1.91 ERA over the final three months. Scouting Report: Crick maintains a 93-95 mph into the late innings and can reach 99 mph. He combines strength, stamina and athleticism, creating plenty of leverage as he drives down the mound with his long, powerful legs. He drops his arms as he starts from the windup and separates his hands late, which isn't a problem because of his arm speed. His delivery gives him a bit of deception to go along with power stuff that seemingly explodes out of his hand. Crick threw a slider in high school but now operates with a hard curveball. Managers voted it the best breaking ball in the South Atlantic League last summer, even though he basically used it as a show-me offering while learning to throw it for strikes. His changeup became his most dependable offspeed pitch by the end of the year and will be a key to his success as a starter. Crick benefited from pitching in the same Augusta rotation as Clayton Blackburn, a fellow 2011 high school draftee who had an advanced feel for four pitches. "That was the best thing to happen to him, to sit in the stands and chart Blackburn,"Bradley said. Crick doesn't have anywhere near Blackburn's command, though. He walked 5.4 batters per nine innings and tended to labor and overanalyze when he had trouble locating his pitches. He also overthrows when things don't go his way, something he'll address as he matures. He's extremely competitive, which leads to occasional battles with coaches when he wanted to stay in games. He's intelligent and inquisitive, always trying to soak up knowledge. The Future: After giving up Zack Wheeler in a short-sighted trade with the Mets for Carlos Beltran in 2011, the Giants now have another frontline starter in the making. Crick will be part of one of the minors' most talented rotations at high Class A San Jose in 2013, and San Francisco won't be far off if he improves his control and consistency. After all, Cain made his debut before his 21st birthday.
• December, 2011 Scouting Report
  Background: The Giants seldom guess wrong when they spend a high draft pick on a high school pitcher. Crick, a 2011 sandwich pick who signed for $900,000, has every bit as much projection as Matt Cain did nearly a decade ago. Not only does he have size and athleticism, but Crick also has a low-mileage arm. He didn't concentrate on pitching until the summer before his senior season, spending more time as a first baseman and a defensive end in football. Scouting Report: Crick's fastball already sits easily in the low 90s and reaches as high as 97, and he has the chance to throw even harder once he cleans up his delivery and gets more on line to the plate. He has long, powerful legs and uses them to drive off the mound. His slider is his best secondary pitch, though it features more sweep than bite. At times he throws a curveball with good depth and tilt, but not consistently for strikes. His changeup is in the early stages and he also has tried throwing a forkball. His command is a work in progress as well. The Future: Though the young Texan is a long ways off, with Zack Wheeler gone in the Carlos Beltran trade, Crick is the best power arm in a system that usually knows what to do with them. He has the ceiling of a No. 2 starter.