Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

Curtis stayed in his home state of Texas to begin his college career, going from Port Neches down to Texas A&M. He didn’t pitch in 2021 because of ulnar nerve transposition surgery, and while he returned to the mound in 2022, the right-hander made just five starts before being shut down and needing to have a procedure to remove stitches from his elbow that caused pain. He transferred to Arizona State for the 2023 season, and while his results have been mixed (struggling especially in Pac-12 play), the stuff has largely been good and he’s been throwing pain-free.

Curtis wasn’t fully healthy in the fall, so scouts in Arizona seeing him for the first time this spring have been impressed with the overall quality of the stuff. His fastball sits 92-93 mph but is consistently up to 96. The 6-foot-5 right-hander will throw both a two-seamer with sink that can get ground balls and a four-seamer with life up, depending on the hitter and situation. His slider has improved by using a cutter grip and the upper-80s pitch misses a ton of bats. He’ll fold in an occasional slower curve and his low-80s changeup features decent fade.

When Curtis is doing a good job tunneling his repertoire, he can be downright nasty and effective, but his command in and out of the zone has been inconsistent this spring. That’s something teams could see improving the further removed he gets from his elbow woes. If they’re confident he’s healthy, his size and stuff could get him off the board early on Day 2 of the Draft.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40

Curtis initially stayed in his home state to attend Texas A&M to pitch in college. But ulnar transposition surgery wiped out his 2021 season, and he made just five starts in 2022 as he needed to have stitches from his elbow removed that were causing issues. He had mixed results following a transfer to Arizona State in 2023 but showed enough good stuff and health for the Pirates to take him in Round 12 and go over slot to sign him for close to $500,000. If his the leap forward with his stuff so far in the early stages of his career is any indication, that could prove to be a bargain.

A 6-foot-5 right-hander, Curtis has a chance to start long-term thanks to a deep arsenal of rapidly-improving stuff. He’ll throw both two-seam and four-seam fastballs and has seen an uptick in velocity, now getting his fastball up to 98 mph regularly. He changed his slider to a cutter grip last year with good success, and it's a bat-missing pitch in the upper-80s that tops out at 92 mph. He can fold in a slower upper-70s curve with good depth and also has low-80s changeup with fade.

Curtis entered pro ball with some command issues, and it’s taken him a little time to harness his new-and-improved stuff, but he was starting to figure things out more consistently as his first full season wore on. He has an up arrow next to his name, with the Pirates believing he could land in a big league rotation if the gains stick.

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	09/25/2024	RHP Khristian Curtis assigned to Scottsdale Scorpions.
	08/09/2024	Bradenton Marauders activated RHP Khristian Curtis from the 7-day injured list.
	06/22/2024	Bradenton Marauders placed RHP Khristian Curtis on the 7-day injured list.
	04/04/2024	RHP Khristian Curtis assigned to Bradenton Marauders.
	03/13/2024	RHP Khristian Curtis assigned to Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects.
	07/20/2023	Pittsburgh Pirates signed RHP Khristian Curtis.
	07/20/2023	RHP Khristian Curtis assigned to FCL Pirates.
	06/15/2023	RHP Khristian Curtis assigned to College Workout.
	03/11/2023	Arizona State Sun Devils activated RHP Khristian Curtis.
	03/11/2023	RHP Khristian Curtis assigned to Arizona State Sun Devils.
	05/03/2021	RHP Khristian Curtis assigned to Texas A&M Aggies.
	05/03/2021	RHP Khristian Curtis assigned to Texas A&M Aggies.