Landen Roupp, RHP
DOB: 9/10/1998
BATS: R  /  THROWS: R
ACQUIRED: Drafted 2021, 12th Round
LAST LEVEL: Double-A
VOLATILITY: Mild

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GiantFutures 2023 Ranks: #15 Overall, #5 Starting Pitcher

2022 Performance: Landen Roupp rocketed through the minors in 2022, moving through three levels and being successful at all of them.

Roupp started the season as a piggy-back starter (i.e. reliever) in San Jose, where he had a 2.59 ERA through 14 games.  Roupp had 69 strikeouts and 17 walks in 48.2 innings at San Jose, and held hitters to a .188 batting average.  Roupp would move to Eugene to start July, and he had seven starts there with a 1.67 ERA, and 52 strikeouts to nine walks in 32.1 innings.  By mid-August, the 23-year old was promoted to a more age-appropriate Double-A Richmond where he had a 3.76 ERA with 31 strikeouts to 11 walks in 26.1 innings.

Roupp was just about equally effective against both right-handed and left-handed hitters, as he had a .541 OPS against righties, and a .542 OPS against lefties.

Strengths and Weaknesses: For Roupp, his curveball is his best weapon.  He has a high-spin curve with big motion and depth.  He throws his curveball more than any other pitcher in the minor throws theirs.  It’s a plus pitch that can carry him through the minors.  Roupp’s fastball is a two-seam fastball in the low-90s with a lot of sinking motion.  The two pitches help Roupp keep the ball in the ballpark, as he gave up just six home runs in 107.1 innings.  Roupp also has a mid-80s changeup, but it’s currently a very fringy pitch.

Roupp has above-average control, though he struggled a bit more with it as the season wound down in Double-A. 

2023 Outlook: Roupp is likely to head back to Double-A Richmond, where he needs to prove that 2022 wasn’t just a flash in the Low-A pan.  He’ll be facing players that will be closer in age to him, and will need to improve his changeup to round out his compliment.

Future Profile: Roupp had perhaps the most eye-opening 2022 of any Giants pitcher, in comparison to expectations.  But just like Vaun Brown, another 10th-round-plus draft pick who succeeded against younger competition, one of Roupp’s jobs is to prove it was for real.  If he does, and he can make his changeup a solid third pitch, then he has a profile of being a back-end starter.  Even if he does not, his curveball and sinker and even platoon splits would be a valuable addition as a middle-inning bullpen pitcher.