South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 63: Hunter Schryver

Equally effective against righties or lefties, this southpaw hopes to make the White Sox his home

By whisoxman20051917 Apr 17, 2019, 10:33am CDT

**No LOOGYs:** Schryver is tough against any-handed hitter.

Hunter Schryver
6´1´´
198 pounds
Throws: Left
Age: 24
SSS rank among all left-handed relief pitchers in the system: 5

Schryver, a Mechanicsburg, Pa. native, had a respectable run as starting pitcher (despite a 13-23 record) for Villanova from 2014-17, where he struck out 249 hitters over 277 1⁄3innings of work (20.6%). His results were solid but unexceptional for the Wildcats, as he compiled a 3.57 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, .249 OBA and 122 walks (10.1%) during his four-year stint.

Schryver’s senior season was arguably his best despite an increase in walks, as he posted a 2.44 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, .213 OBA, 11.8 BB%, 29.0 K% and no homers allowed. Others seemed to agree, as Schryver was named to the All-Big East team as a result of his efforts. The Tampa Bay Rays selected him in the seventh round of the 2017 MLB draft, and immediately converted the lefty to a bullpen role.

Schryver instantly took to his new opportunity, and threw many more strikes out of the pen. His first team was the Hudson Valley Renegades, Tampa’s New York-Penn League short-season affiliate. In 20 outings encompassing 34 1⁄3 innings, Schryver posted a 3.12 ERA and 1.15 WHIP by allowing 35 hits (.252 OBA) and just five walks (3.4 BB%), while striking out 38 (26.0 K%). For an encore in 2018, Schryver combined with Bowling Green (A) and Charlotte (A+) for a 2.40 ERA and 1.07 WHIP while surrendering just 38 hits (.212 OBA) and 14 walks (7.0 BB%); he also punched out 59 hitters in the process (29.5%).

The White Sox traded international signing bonus pool money for Schryver on July 31, 2018, just two days after receiving higher-profile southpaw Caleb Frare from the New York Yankees in a similar deal. In 15 innings over nine appearances for the Dash, Schryver continued to build upon his success, with a miniscule 1.20 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, .170 OBA (nine hits), 5.1 BB% (three walks), and 35.6 K% (21 strikeouts). This obviously was a small sample size, but was quite encouraging nonetheless.

According to Baseball America, Schryver owns a fastball that mostly runs 88-91 mph but has been clocked as high as 93. Other pitches in his repertoire include a spike curveball (often called a knuckle curve, which former hurlers Mike Mussina and Cliff Lee successfully deployed) and a changeup. Schryver hasn’t been treated as a LOOGY, and for good reason — righties hit him slightly worse this year (.201) than lefties (.205), which points to the effectiveness of his change. Schryver’s career GO/AO ratio of 1.68 is terrific, and is largely a testament of the effectiveness of his spike curve and his ability to keep fastballs down. This ratio would be ideal for a bandbox like Guaranteed Rate Field.

Schryver was promoted to Double-A Birmingham this season, and has a perfect 0.00 ERA in his first three appearances through six innings with the Barons.