The Braves’ far-flung picks in this week’s amateur draft included a right-handed pitcher from Hawaii, a left-handed pitcher from Ontario and a catcher from an NCAA Division III team in Rochester, N.Y.
But for their first-round pick, the Braves returned to familiar territory: Wake Forest’s pitching staff.
The selection of right-hander Ryan Cusick marked the second consecutive year the Braves drafted a Wake Forest pitcher in the first round. A year ago, their top pick was left-hander Jared Shuster, now pitching for the Braves’ High-A affiliate in Rome.
“You’ve got to fish where the fish are,” Braves vice president of scouting Dana Brown said after drafting Cusick, “and we feel like this is a pretty special talent.”
Cusick isn’t surprised to follow Shuster, a fellow Massachusetts native, into the Braves organization. Both were scouted by Billy Best, one of the team’s veteran area scouts.
“The Braves were one of the teams that I thought were a real possibility going into the (draft),” Cusick said a couple of days after the Braves selected him. “And when I heard that they were the team, I was just ecstatic because I’ve heard so many great things from Jared Shuster about the organization.”
He has heard, he said, that there’s an “overarching player-first mentality” in the Braves’ system.
Credit: Wake Forest Athletics
Credit: Wake Forest Athletics
The 6-foot-6, 235-pound Cusick was among the hardest-throwing starting pitchers in college baseball as a junior this season, his fastball topping out at 101 mph and often sitting in the mid-90s. His record (3-5) and ERA (4.24) were underwhelming, but he struck out 108 batters in 70 innings. He walked 32 batters.
His power arm captivated the Braves, who also were impressed by his confidence and competitiveness. He demonstrated those traits when asked on MLB Network immediately after being drafted No. 24 overall what he’d say to former and future teammate Shuster, last year’s No. 25 overall pick.
“I beat you by one, man,” Cusick responded.
Cusick’s fastball is complemented by a good curveball. But to have a successful career as a starting pitcher in the major leagues, he’ll need to develop a change-up as a third pitch, as well as improve his control.
“I think the third pitch is going to be huge for me,” Cusick said. “I had six weeks between (the end of Wake Forest’s season) and the draft to work on the change-up and also the slider, which is more of a hard cutter/slider.
“The change-up is relatively a new pitch for me, and ... it’s come a long way in the past year since I started throwing it during (pandemic) quarantine. ... It’s at the point now where it’s ready for game use.”
Brown described Cusick’s change-up as a “work in progress,” adding: “We think with a little bit of professional instruction he’s going to be fine.”
Cusick’s draft stock soared during his three years at Wake Forest, which has a much-acclaimed “pitching laboratory” facility aimed at performance improvement and injury prevention. He was a 40th-round pick by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2018 draft out of high school and, as expected, honored his Wake Forest commitment rather than signing then.
Some draft analysts now profile Cusick as a relief pitcher, but the Braves envision him “without a doubt” as a starter, Brown said. “He’s one of those guys also that can break into the major leagues as a reliever who you build into a starter,” Brown said. “This is a guy that can come (to the majors) quick if he gets in the (strike) zone a little more.”
Cusick, 21, is eager to continue that journey: “I’m ready to go as soon as they want me to get going.”
Credit: Wake Forest Athletics
Credit: Wake Forest Athletics
