Joe Ryan

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Minnesota Twins #4 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: The Twins acquired Ryan and righthander Drew Strotman from the Rays when they sent Nelson Cruz and minor league righthander Calvin Faucher to Tampa Bay in July. After the trade, Ryan made just two starts for Triple-A St. Paul in August before he was called up to the majors in September, where he pitched well in five starts.
  
  Scouting Report: Ryan has always been a fastball-dominant pitcher. He used that pitch to power through the minors. While evaluators wanted to see him take strides with his secondaries, he continued to pitch overwhelmingly off his fastball (65.8%) with the Twins and continued to find success with it. The pitch has below-average velocity (91.2 mph) and spin, but a low slot and impressive carry up in the zone has allowed it to perplex and stymie hitters, nonetheless. Scouts did like the improvement of Ryan’s slider, which he used 16% of the time in his brief MLB debut. The pitch comes in around 80 mph, and he generated whiffs with it 35.3% of the time. After that, Ryan also occasionally threw an 83 mph changeup and slow curveball. Ryan has an easy delivery with deception and has always been an above-average strike thrower who aggressively attacks hitters and challenges them in the zone.
  
  The Future: Evaluators would still like to see Ryan improve his secondaries so he is better equipped to turn over a lineup, but his fastball has proven to be effective against big league hitters. Ryan profiles as a solid back-of-the-rotation starter with No. 3 upside with further secondary improvement. It’s tough to be a one-pitch starter for long in the majors.
• 
  Ranked Tampa Bay Rays #13 prospect in 2021
  Fastball: 60. Slider: 40. Curveball: 30. Changeup: 50. Control: 55.
  Track Record: A poorly timed lat injury crushed Ryan’s draft stock in 2017, but a solid season after transferring to Division II Cal State Stanislaus made him a seventh-round steal for the Rays in 2018. He broke through in 2019 and finished second in the minors with 183 strikeouts as he climbed three levels to Double-A. The Rays added him to their 60-man player pool and brought him to their alternate training site in 2020.
  
  Scouting Report: Ryan’s fastball plays better than its 92-96 mph velocity and average spin rate indicate. He backspins the ball well and hides it in his delivery, leading to lots of swings and misses up in the zone. Ryan dominated the low minors almost exclusively with his fastball, so facing more advanced hitters at the alternate site helped him realize he needed to develop his secondaries. His fringy slider has surpassed his below-average curveball, but neither is consistent. Ryan’s 83-85 mph changeup is his best secondary offering. It comes out of his hand looking like his fastball and has at least average potential, but he still uses it only sparingly.
  
  The Future: Ryan was a fast mover in 2019, but he still has a ways to go before he is ready for the majors. The development of his secondaries will be critical in 2021.
• 
  Ranked Tampa Bay Rays #9 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Ryan went undrafted after an injury-plagued junior year at Cal State Northridge. After a strong summer in the Cape Cod League, he transferred to Division II Cal State Stanislaus for his senior year and impressed enough to become a seventh-round pick.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: While many pitchers have simplified their deliveries and even junked pitching from a windup, Ryan begins with an old-school windup, bringing his arms high above and behind his head, then usually deals an elevated 92-96 mph fastball. He commands the pitch so well that hitters can't seem to touch it. Ryan's 2,250-rpm spin rate is merely average, but he hides the ball well and gets good extension. He credits his time skipping the ball in water polo for helping him get so much backspin on his fastball. He has toyed with a curveball, cutter and slider but has yet to find a breaking ball that he can spin consistently. His 83-85 mph changeup, which tunnels well off his fastball, gives him a potentially above-average second pitch. Double-A will be a useful test after dominating Class A with 75 percent fastballs.
  
  THE FUTURE: The effectiveness of Ryan's fastball can't be ignored, but he is going to have to keep improving his changeup or figure out how to spin a breaking ball to keep more experienced hitters from keying on his fastball in his return to Montgomery.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #334 prospect in 2017 draft
  Ryan began the year with some helium after a strong showing in the Cape Cod League, but injuries wrecked his season. He suffered a strained lat that shelved him for six weeks early, made four shaky relief appearances and then was shut down the rest of the season with a pulled muscle under his right armpit. In all Ryan threw only 6.1 innings. At his best Ryan has a fastball that sits 92-94 mph and gets on batters quickly because he gets good extension out of his high three-quarters arm slot. He mixes in a solid-average changeup with late cut and a low-80s slider that flashes average but is inconsistent. Most evaluators see Ryan as a two-pitch reliever in pro ball, an opinion further solidified by his injury problems. He has a chance to be drafted toward the back of top 10 rounds, and possibly higher by a team enthralled by his Cape performance.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Florida State League #10 prospect in 2019
  Ryan has been one of the biggest standouts from the Rays’ 2018 draft class, which also included talented lefthanders Matthew Liberatore and Shane McClanahan. Injuries led Ryan to transfer to Cal State Stanislaus for his senior season, and he’s evolved greatly over the last 18 months or so. His signature pitch is a 92-95 mph fastball he throws nearly three-quarters of the time. The pitch is delivered with incredible backspin forged by years as a high school volleyball player and is nearly unhittable when located up in the zone. He blends the fastball with an ever-changing mix of offspeed pitches, including a cut fastball he learned as a pro and a slider he developed this season in the Florida State League. He’s added power to his curveball and refined his changeup as well. Ryan meshes a power pitcher’s mindset with impressive command, and the results this season have been outstanding.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #86 prospect in 2022
• Ranked Baseball America's #98 prospect in 2020

• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: The Twins acquired Ryan and righthander Drew Strotman from the Rays when they sent Nelson Cruz and minor league righthander Calvin Faucher to Tampa Bay in July. After the trade, Ryan made just two starts for Triple-A St. Paul in August before he was called up to the majors in September, where he pitched well in five starts.
  
  Scouting Report: Ryan has always been a fastball-dominant pitcher. He used that pitch to power through the minors. While evaluators wanted to see him take strides with his secondaries, he continued to pitch overwhelmingly off his fastball (65.8%) with the Twins and continued to find success with it. The pitch has below-average velocity (91.2 mph) and spin, but a low slot and impressive carry up in the zone has allowed it to perplex and stymie hitters, nonetheless. Scouts did like the improvement of Ryan’s slider, which he used 16% of the time in his brief MLB debut. The pitch comes in around 80 mph, and he generated whiffs with it 35.3% of the time. After that, Ryan also occasionally threw an 83 mph changeup and slow curveball. Ryan has an easy delivery with deception and has always been an above-average strike thrower who aggressively attacks hitters and challenges them in the zone.
  
  The Future: Evaluators would still like to see Ryan improve his secondaries so he is better equipped to turn over a lineup, but his fastball has proven to be effective against big league hitters. Ryan profiles as a solid back-of-the-rotation starter with No. 3 upside with further secondary improvement. It’s tough to be a one-pitch starter for long in the majors.
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  One of two pitchers the Twins acquired from the Rays for Nelson Cruz, Ryan is the more successful of the two but also more divisive. While it's easy to see Drew Strotman's varied secondary offerings, Ryan attacks hitters with a fastball that always plays better than its velocity, spin and movement profile would seem to indicate it should. He hides it well, which helps it play better because hitters pick it up late, but his plus control also helps. His fringe-average slider and below-average curveball are nothing to rely on. He throws an average changeup almost exclusively to lefthanded hitters. Some evaluators see him as a solid No. 4 starter because of his control and that fastball. Others think he's best suited for the bullpen, where hitters won't get as much time to get accustomed to him.
• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 60. Slider: 40. Curveball: 30. Changeup: 50. Control: 55.
  Track Record: A poorly timed lat injury crushed Ryan’s draft stock in 2017, but a solid season after transferring to Division II Cal State Stanislaus made him a seventh-round steal for the Rays in 2018. He broke through in 2019 and finished second in the minors with 183 strikeouts as he climbed three levels to Double-A. The Rays added him to their 60-man player pool and brought him to their alternate training site in 2020.
  
  Scouting Report: Ryan’s fastball plays better than its 92-96 mph velocity and average spin rate indicate. He backspins the ball well and hides it in his delivery, leading to lots of swings and misses up in the zone. Ryan dominated the low minors almost exclusively with his fastball, so facing more advanced hitters at the alternate site helped him realize he needed to develop his secondaries. His fringy slider has surpassed his below-average curveball, but neither is consistent. Ryan’s 83-85 mph changeup is his best secondary offering. It comes out of his hand looking like his fastball and has at least average potential, but he still uses it only sparingly.
  
  The Future: Ryan was a fast mover in 2019, but he still has a ways to go before he is ready for the majors. The development of his secondaries will be critical in 2021.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  Fastball: 60. Slider: 40. Curveball: 30. Changeup: 50. Control: 55.
  Track Record: A poorly timed lat injury crushed Ryan’s draft stock in 2017, but a solid season after transferring to Division II Cal State Stanislaus made him a seventh-round steal for the Rays in 2018. He broke through in 2019 and finished second in the minors with 183 strikeouts as he climbed three levels to Double-A. The Rays added him to their 60-man player pool and brought him to their alternate training site in 2020.
  
  Scouting Report: Ryan’s fastball plays better than its 92-96 mph velocity and average spin rate indicate. He backspins the ball well and hides it in his delivery, leading to lots of swings and misses up in the zone. Ryan dominated the low minors almost exclusively with his fastball, so facing more advanced hitters at the alternate site helped him realize he needed to develop his secondaries. His fringy slider has surpassed his below-average curveball, but neither is consistent. Ryan’s 83-85 mph changeup is his best secondary offering. It comes out of his hand looking like his fastball and has at least average potential, but he still uses it only sparingly.
  
  The Future: Ryan was a fast mover in 2019, but he still has a ways to go before he is ready for the majors. The development of his secondaries will be critical in 2021.
• July, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Ryan went undrafted after an injury-plagued junior year at Cal State Northridge. After a strong summer in the Cape Cod League, he transferred to Division II Cal State Stanislaus for his senior year and impressed enough to become a seventh-round pick.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: While many pitchers have simplified their deliveries and even junked pitching from a windup, Ryan begins with an old-school windup, bringing his arms high above and behind his head, then usually deals an elevated 92-96 mph fastball. He commands the pitch so well that hitters can’t seem to touch it. Ryan’s 2,250-rpm spin rate is merely average, but he hides the ball well and gets good extension. He credits his time skipping the ball in water polo for helping him get so much backspin on his fastball. He has toyed with a curveball, cutter and slider but has yet to find a breaking ball that he can spin consistently. His 83-85 mph changeup, which tunnels well off his fastball, gives him a potentially above-average second pitch. Double-A will be a useful test after dominating Class A with 75 percent fastballs.
  
  THE FUTURE: The effectiveness of Ryan’s fastball can’t be ignored, but he is going to have to keep improving his changeup or figure out how to spin a breaking ball to keep more experienced hitters from keying on his fastball in his return to Montgomery.
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Ryan went undrafted after an injury-plagued junior year at Cal State Northridge. After a strong summer in the Cape Cod League, he transferred to Division II Cal State Stanislaus for his senior year and impressed enough to become a seventh-round pick.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: While many pitchers have simplified their deliveries and even junked pitching from a windup, Ryan begins with an old-school windup, bringing his arms high above and behind his head, then usually deals an elevated 92-96 mph fastball. He commands the pitch so well that hitters can't seem to touch it. Ryan's 2,250-rpm spin rate is merely average, but he hides the ball well and gets good extension. He credits his time skipping the ball in water polo for helping him get so much backspin on his fastball. He has toyed with a curveball, cutter and slider but has yet to find a breaking ball that he can spin consistently. His 83-85 mph changeup, which tunnels well off his fastball, gives him a potentially above-average second pitch. Double-A will be a useful test after dominating Class A with 75 percent fastballs.
  
  THE FUTURE: The effectiveness of Ryan's fastball can't be ignored, but he is going to have to keep improving his changeup or figure out how to spin a breaking ball to keep more experienced hitters from keying on his fastball in his return to Montgomery.
• December, 2018 Scouting Report
  Ryan has been one of the biggest standouts from the Rays’ 2018 draft class, which also included talented lefthanders Matthew Liberatore and Shane McClanahan. Injuries led Ryan to transfer to Cal State Stanislaus for his senior season, and he’s evolved greatly over the last 18 months or so. His signature pitch is a 92-95 mph fastball he throws nearly three-quarters of the time. The pitch is delivered with incredible backspin forged by years as a high school volleyball player and is nearly unhittable when located up in the zone. He blends the fastball with an ever-changing mix of offspeed pitches, including a cut fastball he learned as a pro and a slider he developed this season in the Florida State League. He’s added power to his curveball and refined his changeup as well. Ryan meshes a power pitcher’s mindset with impressive command, and the results this season have been outstanding.