Thomas Szapucki, LHP
DOB: 6/12/1996
BATS: R  /  THROWS: L
ACQUIRED: Traded along with J.D. Davis, Carson Seymour, and Nick Zwack for Darin Ruf, August 2022
ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: 2015, 5th Round (by the New York Mets)
LAST LEVEL: MLB
VOLATILITY: Mild

See Full Stats Here

GiantFutures 2023 Ranks: #28 Overall, #6 Reliever

2022 Performance: Thomas Szapucki had a big year, and is on the verge of being a bigtime contributor for his new big league club…after they knocked him around a bit.

Szapucki started the season in Triple-A Syracuse in the Mets system, and by late May, he had a 2.86 ERA for Syracuse.  He made a callup to the Mets, and played one game for this season, against the Giants, who touched him up over 1.1 innings.  Szapucki returned to Syracuse, where he finished there with a 3.38 ERA through the end of July before he was traded to the Giants in the Darin Ruf trade.

Szapucki had a great time after the trade.  He had a 1.08 ERA over seven games in Triple-A Sacramento, and then a 1.98 ERA in ten games with San Francisco, easily his best run in the Majors after two awful games in the bigs with the Mets in the last two seasons.

In the end, Szapucki had a 3.11 ERA in Triple-A, with 102 strikeouts to 32 walks in 72.1 innings.

Strengths and Weaknesses: Szapucki works with a fastball that usually sits in the low 90’s that he works with up in the zone, and a low 80’s curve with a lot of spin.  He also has a fringy changeup that he used less as the season moved on.  The curve is his best pitch, getting whiffs on it nearly one out of three times in the big leagues.  He works with average control.

The good news for Szapucki is that he’s picked up some of the velocity that he had lost over the 2020 season when he dropped off of prospect lists.  With his increased velocity, he was a far better pitcher in 2022 than he was in 2021.

2023 Outlook: Szapucki has an option year left, and for Farhan Zaidi, that’s like having the ultimate versatility.  So Szapucki should be ready to move up and down between San Francisco and Sacramento as needed, and likely a big factor in the bullpen at both levels.

Future Profile: Szapucki does not have the top tier stuff that puts him amongst top prospects, but he does have a good overall package.  If Szapucki’s velocity doesn’t backslide, he’s got the profile to be a good reliever in the middle of a bullpen for seasons to come.