Ken Waldichuk
| IP | 175.667 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 5.277 |
| WHIP | 1.497 |
| BB/9 | 4.15 |
| SO/9 | 8.454 |
- Full name Kenneth Dieter Waldichuk
- Born 01/08/1998 in San Diego, CA
- Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 220 / Bats: L / Throws: L
- School St. Mary's
- Debut 09/01/2022
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Drafted in the 5th round (165th overall) by the New York Yankees in 2019 (signed for $307,000).
View Draft Report
A two-year starter for St. Mary’s, Waldichuk was named to the West Coast Conference all-freshman team after his first season with the Gaels, when he was used mostly as a reliever and posted a 2.00 ERA in 45 innings. The next two seasons Waldichuk was used in the starting rotation, where he has been solid. He recorded a 0.96 WHIP in 2018 and notched 96 strikeouts in his first 87.1 innings as a junior in 2019. At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Waldichuk has an ideal pitcher’s frame with a fastball that sits comfortably in the 91-92 mph range and touches 95 mph at his best. He throws from a low, three-quarter slot, which allows all of his pitches to play up. He has an above-average slider that he routinely throws down and in to righthanded hitters, while his changeup shows good fade away from righties. He also gets solid shape on his curveball. Waldichuk has a nice idea of what he’s doing on the mound with solid control, although his command needs refinement as he tends to scatter strikes in the zone. Waldichuk has battled some inconsistencies this spring, and his stuff isn’t overpowering, but he has a solid repertoire of pitches to work with. He should be drafted at some point on Day 2.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
Track Record: The Yankees signed Waldichuk for $307,000 as a fifth-rounder in 2019. He added strength to his 6-foot-4 frame and worked with New York's pitching development program to enhance his slider during the shutdown in 2020. He returned a different pitcher, striking out 163 batters over 110 innings in 2021 while reaching Double-A. Oakland acquired Waldichuk from the Yankees along with three other players in a deadline deal for Frankie Montas. Waldichuk made his MLB debut shortly after, posting a 4.93 ERA across seven starts.
Scouting Report: Waldichuk's fastball velocity now sits in the mid 90s and his four-seamer carries well to the upper half of the strike zone. The low-80s slider he developed with the Yankees is a true sweeper that dives at the back foot of righthanded batters and is one of the better breaking balls in Oakland's system. Both pitches play up because of the deception in his funky delivery. Waldichuk also throws a solid-average low-80s changeup almost exclusively to righthanded hitters, and some evaluators believe it has a chance to keep improving. He rounds out his four-pitch mix with a mid-70s curveball that he'll occasionally flash early in counts. While Waldichuk's lefthanded arsenal is potent, he's more control--he has a fair walk rate of 3.6 per nine innings in the minors--than command at this point, sometimes missing his spots within the strike zone. The lower half of his delivery can fall out of sync at times. Still, his ability to miss bats given his stuff allows for a bit more margin of error.
The Future: Waldichuk has the ceiling of a midrotation starter as he continues to tighten his delivery. He'll compete for a spot in Oakland's Opening Day rotation in spring training.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Curveball: 45. Slider: 60. Changeup: 55. Control: 50 -
Track Record: Waldichuk went undrafted out of high school but improved dramatically during his three years at St. Mary’s. The Yankees drafted him in the fifth round in 2019, then let him get his feet wet at Rookie-level Pulaski. Waldichuk developed remotely during the lost 2020 season, then came out of the gate on fire in 2021, when he went the first 34 innings before allowing a run. He finished the year with 163 strikeouts, tied for fourth in the minors, as he climbed from High-A to Double-A.
Scouting Report: Waldichuk is the Yankees’ preeminent king of funk. He stymies hitters not only with his stuff, but a slinger-type delivery that confuses hitters with arms, legs and angles. All of that movement allows his stuff to play up. His arsenal starts with a four-seam fastball that sits 92-93 mph with tail and carry at the top of the zone. Waldichuk backs up his fastball with an array of average offspeed pitches. His slider flashes excellent depth at the bottom of the zone and he also has a slurvier curveball that has similar shape but less velocity than his slider. His changeup flashes above-average to plus and may end up his best secondary. Waldichuk’s control will be the true key to his success. His delivery is difficult to repeat and yields fringy control which, combined with his lack of a true out pitch, was part of the reason he was less successful after moving to Double-A.
The Future: Waldichuk should move to Triple-A to begin 2022. He’ll need to improve his command and control and find a separator offspeed pitch in order to remain a starter.
Draft Prospects
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A two-year starter for St. Mary's, Waldichuk was named to the West Coast Conference all-freshman team after his first season with the Gaels, when he was used mostly as a reliever and posted a 2.00 ERA in 45 innings. The next two seasons Waldichuk was used in the starting rotation, where he has been solid. He recorded a 0.96 WHIP in 2018 and notched 96 strikeouts in his first 87.1 innings as a junior in 2019. At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Waldichuk has an ideal pitcher's frame with a fastball that sits comfortably in the 91-92 mph range and touches 95 mph at his best. He throws from a low, three-quarter slot, which allows all of his pitches to play up. He has an above-average slider that he routinely throws down and in to righthanded hitters, while his changeup shows good fade away from righties. He also gets solid shape on his curveball. Waldichuk has a nice idea of what he's doing on the mound with solid control, although his command needs refinement as he tends to scatter strikes in the zone. Waldichuk has battled some inconsistencies this spring, and his stuff isn't overpowering, but he has a solid repertoire of pitches to work with. He should be drafted at some point on Day 2.
Scouting Reports
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BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
Track Record: The Yankees signed Waldichuk for $307,000 as a fifth-rounder in 2019. He added strength to his 6-foot-4 frame and worked with New York's pitching development program to enhance his slider during the shutdown in 2020. He returned a different pitcher, striking out 163 batters over 110 innings in 2021 while reaching Double-A. Oakland acquired Waldichuk from the Yankees along with three other players in a deadline deal for Frankie Montas. Waldichuk made his MLB debut shortly after, posting a 4.93 ERA across seven starts.
Scouting Report: Waldichuk's fastball velocity now sits in the mid 90s and his four-seamer carries well to the upper half of the strike zone. The low-80s slider he developed with the Yankees is a true sweeper that dives at the back foot of righthanded batters and is one of the better breaking balls in Oakland's system. Both pitches play up because of the deception in his funky delivery. Waldichuk also throws a solid-average low-80s changeup almost exclusively to righthanded hitters, and some evaluators believe it has a chance to keep improving. He rounds out his four-pitch mix with a mid-70s curveball that he'll occasionally flash early in counts. While Waldichuk's lefthanded arsenal is potent, he's more control--he has a fair walk rate of 3.6 per nine innings in the minors--than command at this point, sometimes missing his spots within the strike zone. The lower half of his delivery can fall out of sync at times. Still, his ability to miss bats given his stuff allows for a bit more margin of error.
The Future: Waldichuk has the ceiling of a midrotation starter as he continues to tighten his delivery. He'll compete for a spot in Oakland's Opening Day rotation in spring training.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Curveball: 45. Slider: 60. Changeup: 55. Control: 50 -
BA Grade/Risk: 50/High
Track Record: The Yankees signed Waldichuk for $307,000 as a fifth-rounder in 2019. He added strength to his 6-foot-4 frame and worked with New York's pitching development program to enhance his slider during the shutdown in 2020. He returned a different pitcher, striking out 163 batters over 110 innings in 2021 while reaching Double-A. Oakland acquired Waldichuk from the Yankees along with three other players in a deadline deal for Frankie Montas. Waldichuk made his MLB debut shortly after, posting a 4.93 ERA across seven starts.
Scouting Report: Waldichuk's fastball velocity now sits in the mid 90s and his four-seamer carries well to the upper half of the strike zone. The low-80s slider he developed with the Yankees is a true sweeper that dives at the back foot of righthanded batters and is one of the better breaking balls in Oakland's system. Both pitches play up because of the deception in his funky delivery. Waldichuk also throws a solid-average low-80s changeup almost exclusively to righthanded hitters, and some evaluators believe it has a chance to keep improving. He rounds out his four-pitch mix with a mid-70s curveball that he'll occasionally flash early in counts. While Waldichuk's lefthanded arsenal is potent, he's more control--he has a fair walk rate of 3.6 per nine innings in the minors--than command at this point, sometimes missing his spots within the strike zone. The lower half of his delivery can fall out of sync at times. Still, his ability to miss bats given his stuff allows for a bit more margin of error.
The Future: Waldichuk has the ceiling of a midrotation starter as he continues to tighten his delivery. He'll compete for a spot in Oakland's Opening Day rotation in spring training.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Curveball: 45. Slider: 60. Changeup: 55. Control: 50 -
BA Grade: 50/High
Track Record: Waldichuk went undrafted out of high school, then brought his stock up dramatically by pitching three years at St. Mary's. The Yankees drafted him in the fifth round in 2019, then let him get his feet wet at Rookie-level Pulaski. He developed remotely during the lost 2020 season, then came out of the gate on fire in 2021, when he went the first 34 innings before allowing a run. He finished the year with 163 strikeouts, tied for fourth in the minors.
Scouting Report: Waldichuk is the organization's preeminent king of funk. He stymies hitters not only with his stuff, but a slinger-type delivery that confuses hitters with arms, legs and angles. All of that movement allows his stuff to play up. His arsenal starts with a four-seam fastball that sits in the 92-93 mph range but peaked this year at 98 and shows tailing action at times but also carry at the top of the zone. Waldichuk backs up his fastball with an array of average offspeed pitches with no clear best. Some scouts prefer his slider, which flashes excellent depth at the bottom of the zone. He also has a slurvier curveball which tends to blend in with the slider, with the velo separation being the only distinguishing characteristic. Other scouts saw his changeup flash above-average to plus. Waldichuk's command and control will be the true key to his success. His delivery is difficult to repeat, and his lack of a true out pitch was part of the reason he was less successful after moving to Double-A.
The Future: Waldichuk should move to Triple-A to begin 2022. He'll need to improve his command and control and find a separator offspeed pitch in order to remain a starter. If he can't stick there, he should be able to find a spot as a reliever who is poison to same-side hitters.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60. Curveball: 45. Slider: 50. Changeup: 55. Control: 45. -
Track Record: Waldichuk went undrafted out of high school but improved dramatically during his three years at St. Mary’s. The Yankees drafted him in the fifth round in 2019, then let him get his feet wet at Rookie-level Pulaski. Waldichuk developed remotely during the lost 2020 season, then came out of the gate on fire in 2021, when he went the first 34 innings before allowing a run. He finished the year with 163 strikeouts, tied for fourth in the minors, as he climbed from High-A to Double-A.
Scouting Report: Waldichuk is the Yankees’ preeminent king of funk. He stymies hitters not only with his stuff, but a slinger-type delivery that confuses hitters with arms, legs and angles. All of that movement allows his stuff to play up. His arsenal starts with a four-seam fastball that sits 92-93 mph with tail and carry at the top of the zone. Waldichuk backs up his fastball with an array of average offspeed pitches. His slider flashes excellent depth at the bottom of the zone and he also has a slurvier curveball that has similar shape but less velocity than his slider. His changeup flashes above-average to plus and may end up his best secondary. Waldichuk’s control will be the true key to his success. His delivery is difficult to repeat and yields fringy control which, combined with his lack of a true out pitch, was part of the reason he was less successful after moving to Double-A.
The Future: Waldichuk should move to Triple-A to begin 2022. He’ll need to improve his command and control and find a separator offspeed pitch in order to remain a starter.
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Waldichuk has a delivery funkier than George Clinton in his heyday, and his stuff is good enough to have thoroughly baffled hitters at High-A. His fastball has the vaunted “invisiball” properties, which has allowed him to get loads of swings and misses. He pairs the fastball with both a slider and slurve, as well as a changeup scouts project to be at least above-average. -
A two-year starter for St. Mary's, Waldichuk was named to the West Coast Conference all-freshman team after his first season with the Gaels, when he was used mostly as a reliever and posted a 2.00 ERA in 45 innings. The next two seasons Waldichuk was used in the starting rotation, where he has been solid. He recorded a 0.96 WHIP in 2018 and notched 96 strikeouts in his first 87.1 innings as a junior in 2019. At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Waldichuk has an ideal pitcher's frame with a fastball that sits comfortably in the 91-92 mph range and touches 95 mph at his best. He throws from a low, three-quarter slot, which allows all of his pitches to play up. He has an above-average slider that he routinely throws down and in to righthanded hitters, while his changeup shows good fade away from righties. He also gets solid shape on his curveball. Waldichuk has a nice idea of what he's doing on the mound with solid control, although his command needs refinement as he tends to scatter strikes in the zone. Waldichuk has battled some inconsistencies this spring, and his stuff isn't overpowering, but he has a solid repertoire of pitches to work with. He should be drafted at some point on Day 2.
