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In this installment of the Cubshub.com's Scouting Reports, we'll look at one of the Cubs' Pacific Rim finds in Jae-kuk Ryu.
The next Scouting Report is on Adam Greenberg.
Jae-kuk Ryu
Height: 6-3
Weight: 220 lbs
Position: SP
B/T: R/R
DOB: 5/30/1983
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
2004 season overall (spent time in Rookie, Short A, AA, AAA)
Appeared in 23 games (14 at AA), only 2 starts (in Rk), 1-2 record, going 30 IP, giving up 35 hits, 13 earned runs, 2 hrs, 16 bb, 31 k, 3.90 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, .280 BAA
2004 season at Arizona Fall League
Appeared in 8 games, starting 3, 1-3 record, going 19 2/3 IP, giving up 27 hits, 14 er, 1 hr, 9 bb, 19 k, 6.41 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, .314 BAA
2005 regular season and playoffs at West Tennessee (AA)
In the regular season, he appeared in 27 starts with a complete game shutout, a 11-8 record, going 169 2/3 IP, giving up 154 hits, 63 earned runs, 12 hrs, 49 bb, 133 K, 3.34 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .232 BAA
In the playoffs, he played and started only one game, game one of the Championship vs Jacksonville Suns. He went 6 IP, giving up 7 hits, 4 er, 1 hr, 2 bb, 3 k, yet he still got the sole win for the Diamond Jaxx in the Championship Series.
Ryu did a quick turnabout from his dismal injury plagued 2004 season, and showed that he is still able to go the distance and be an everyday starter. Jae-kuk was signed in June 2001 by then Cubs' Pacific Rim Scout Leon Lee (Derrek Lee's father) out of high school for 1.6 million. Ryu was regarded as the best amateur or professional pitcher at the time in South Korea, and Lee saw the potential of Ryu to be a dominating starter in majors. In Ryu's last game of his high school career, he threw a no hitter striking out 20 of the 21 batters he faced.
Ryu started off his professional career the next season pitching the majority of the season at Boise (short A) and ended the year in Lansing (low A). He was ranked the fifth best pitching prospect in the Northwest League by Baseball America. And the 2003 season was a whirlwind for Ryu, whom intentionally hit an osprey (an endangered species, yet is highly populated) with a baseball at the Daytona complex. With severe public backlash in the area, the Cubs demoted Ryu to Lansing where he carved up the competition (first half all star team). Despite getting death threats and facing possible deportation he was deemed still able to pitch. Ryu was promoted to West Tennessee where he did an admirable job for a 20 year old.
The Cubs, with an overflow of starting pitching prospects started Ryu off in 2004 in the AA bullpen. Ryu didn't respond well, and ended up with tendonitis after pitching in multiple back to back games. The Cubs worked him back slowly and had him pitching in the Arizona Fall League before he went down with a sore back. This season, the Cubs let Ryu back in the rotation and he rewarded them by posting great control and durability numbers. While supplying West Tennessee with a three headed pitching threat between Ryu, Nolasco, and Pinto mixed with 10+ starts from Rich Hill, Carmen Pignatiello, and Carlos Marmol.
Pitching: Ryu has a great live arm with a sinking fastball that generally was sitting at 90-92 mph with touches of 94 mph. Over the last few years, Ryu's overall velocity has dropped, in 2003 he was consistantly hitting 94 mph. But as his velocity has dropped his control has been more solid, and his handling of his offspeed pitches, a nasty curve, a deadly changeup, and a biting splitter have solidified. All four of his pitches rate as MLB quality. And on a stuff level, Ryu has some of the best in the Cubs system.
One of the attractive elements of Ryu's game is his ability to keep the ball down on the ground and inside the park. What he started doing in 2005 was making hitters get themselves out, inside of trying to strike the hitters out. Ryu seems on top of his game when he's throwing his sinker in the lower 90's, it allows for more movement and makes identifying his changeup nearly impossible.
Durability: In 2003 as a 20 year old, Ryu threw 150 2/3 IP between Low A, high A, and AA. That was the season Ryu became known as the "Bird-killer". To Ryu's credit, he persavered through threats, talks of deportion, jail time, etc and still put up good numbers. The next season, he started the season in the bullpen and later displayed some tendonitis which cost him time during the regular season. Which in turn caused him to alter his motion, and later missed time during the Arizona Fall League with a sore back.
In 2005, he started the season in the DiamondJaxx rotation and he shined. He displayed some great control and the ability to go out there day in and day out, leading the Cub minor league pitchers in innings pitched with 169 2/3.
Cubshub to read the rest
The next Scouting Report is on Adam Greenberg.
Jae-kuk Ryu
Height: 6-3
Weight: 220 lbs
Position: SP
B/T: R/R
DOB: 5/30/1983
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
2004 season overall (spent time in Rookie, Short A, AA, AAA)
Appeared in 23 games (14 at AA), only 2 starts (in Rk), 1-2 record, going 30 IP, giving up 35 hits, 13 earned runs, 2 hrs, 16 bb, 31 k, 3.90 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, .280 BAA
2004 season at Arizona Fall League
Appeared in 8 games, starting 3, 1-3 record, going 19 2/3 IP, giving up 27 hits, 14 er, 1 hr, 9 bb, 19 k, 6.41 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, .314 BAA
2005 regular season and playoffs at West Tennessee (AA)
In the regular season, he appeared in 27 starts with a complete game shutout, a 11-8 record, going 169 2/3 IP, giving up 154 hits, 63 earned runs, 12 hrs, 49 bb, 133 K, 3.34 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .232 BAA
In the playoffs, he played and started only one game, game one of the Championship vs Jacksonville Suns. He went 6 IP, giving up 7 hits, 4 er, 1 hr, 2 bb, 3 k, yet he still got the sole win for the Diamond Jaxx in the Championship Series.
Ryu did a quick turnabout from his dismal injury plagued 2004 season, and showed that he is still able to go the distance and be an everyday starter. Jae-kuk was signed in June 2001 by then Cubs' Pacific Rim Scout Leon Lee (Derrek Lee's father) out of high school for 1.6 million. Ryu was regarded as the best amateur or professional pitcher at the time in South Korea, and Lee saw the potential of Ryu to be a dominating starter in majors. In Ryu's last game of his high school career, he threw a no hitter striking out 20 of the 21 batters he faced.
Ryu started off his professional career the next season pitching the majority of the season at Boise (short A) and ended the year in Lansing (low A). He was ranked the fifth best pitching prospect in the Northwest League by Baseball America. And the 2003 season was a whirlwind for Ryu, whom intentionally hit an osprey (an endangered species, yet is highly populated) with a baseball at the Daytona complex. With severe public backlash in the area, the Cubs demoted Ryu to Lansing where he carved up the competition (first half all star team). Despite getting death threats and facing possible deportation he was deemed still able to pitch. Ryu was promoted to West Tennessee where he did an admirable job for a 20 year old.
The Cubs, with an overflow of starting pitching prospects started Ryu off in 2004 in the AA bullpen. Ryu didn't respond well, and ended up with tendonitis after pitching in multiple back to back games. The Cubs worked him back slowly and had him pitching in the Arizona Fall League before he went down with a sore back. This season, the Cubs let Ryu back in the rotation and he rewarded them by posting great control and durability numbers. While supplying West Tennessee with a three headed pitching threat between Ryu, Nolasco, and Pinto mixed with 10+ starts from Rich Hill, Carmen Pignatiello, and Carlos Marmol.
Pitching: Ryu has a great live arm with a sinking fastball that generally was sitting at 90-92 mph with touches of 94 mph. Over the last few years, Ryu's overall velocity has dropped, in 2003 he was consistantly hitting 94 mph. But as his velocity has dropped his control has been more solid, and his handling of his offspeed pitches, a nasty curve, a deadly changeup, and a biting splitter have solidified. All four of his pitches rate as MLB quality. And on a stuff level, Ryu has some of the best in the Cubs system.
One of the attractive elements of Ryu's game is his ability to keep the ball down on the ground and inside the park. What he started doing in 2005 was making hitters get themselves out, inside of trying to strike the hitters out. Ryu seems on top of his game when he's throwing his sinker in the lower 90's, it allows for more movement and makes identifying his changeup nearly impossible.
Durability: In 2003 as a 20 year old, Ryu threw 150 2/3 IP between Low A, high A, and AA. That was the season Ryu became known as the "Bird-killer". To Ryu's credit, he persavered through threats, talks of deportion, jail time, etc and still put up good numbers. The next season, he started the season in the bullpen and later displayed some tendonitis which cost him time during the regular season. Which in turn caused him to alter his motion, and later missed time during the Arizona Fall League with a sore back.
In 2005, he started the season in the DiamondJaxx rotation and he shined. He displayed some great control and the ability to go out there day in and day out, leading the Cub minor league pitchers in innings pitched with 169 2/3.
Cubshub to read the rest
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