Have you ever tried to submerge a cork in water? Meet Jared Shuster.
- Born: August 3, 1998
- B/T: Left/Left
- 6’3″, 210-lbs
- Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft from Wake Forest University
The Numbers
His raw numbers are listed above courtesy of baseball-reference.com. Let’s aggregate by year then focus on the important numbers for minor leaguers:
It’s like bands of green in a field of rainbows! Seriously, this is the mark of a kid who hits a level, struggles a bit, then figures it out and thrives. Sure he managed his first professional level (A+) in 2021 just fine, then he gets promoted to Double-A and struggles.
To start 2022 he repeats AA, and it looks like his previous A+ season. Then he gets promoted to Triple-A and struggles.
Whaddya bet he starts 2023 in Triple-A and puts up a 1.000 WHIP, 30% strikeouts and 6% walks?
Monthly Splits
You know what managers like in pitchers? Reliably being able to pitch. The most mesmerizing column is the IP column: like a metronome, Shuster gets his 24 innings pitched month after month, with only the calendar determining variation. When his number is called, he shows up.
Pretty consistent skills in Double-A with fewer strikeouts in May, but not enough to stress about. Then he has his first full month at Triple-A in August and struggles, but sure enough, he’s already adjusting in September.
Shuster is like a cork in water. You can push him below the surface for a while, but he’s going to bobble up to his level soon enough.
Handedness K% and BB%
AA (vs RH): 31%K and 6%BB. (vs LH): 29%K and 8%BB.
AAA (vs RH): 17%K and 8%BB. (vs LH): 27%K and 9%BB.
The splits reverse from one level to another, so nothing actionable here. The only thing we can say is he did worse at Triple-A.
The Scouts
- Rotowire: #229 on their Top 400
- Fantrax: #202 on their Top 400
- RotoProspects: #177 on Top 500
Warnings
He has a decent low-90s fastball with ride, but he doesn’t always command it well. His true plus pitch is his changeup. His slider is average. One plus pitch means he won’t be a front of the rotation starter ever, but he seems to have a solid #5 starter floor. Set your expectation correctly, and you can enjoy the reliability of a dependable arm at the back of the rotation.
He will probably struggle when he first reaches the majors, but hang tight. He will adjust.
Conclusion
He’s a good pitching prospect, just not a great pitching prospect. But while others chase the elusive aces, you can be smart and get Jared Shuster on your team where he will show up every five days and put up decent numbers. There’s value in that.
Just keep in that that while he is now 24 and has some Triple-A experience already, his appearance in Atlanta will be more determined by who else is in the rotation ahead of him. He might not get much of a chance in 2023 no matter how well he does in Triple-A. But his time is coming, and if there are any injuries, the Braves have a ready replacement ready to go.