Kurt Heyer
Junior, U of Arizona

Height: 6’03″
Weight: 200 lbs
DOB:01/23/91
Throws: R
Bats: R

Jeff’s Quick Take: Park and Scheduled Adjusted ERA of 1.61 with adjusted 103 Ks and 21 BBs. And you guessed it, Kurt Heyer starred in the Cape Cod League for the Orleans Cardinals. He put up those huge numbers through the deception in his windup, not through overpowering hitters. He’s had great stamina through the years with Arizona and the Cardinals were certainly try him at starter in the minors, but it seems like he will eventually end up in the bullpen. He’s known for his advanced approach and poise on the mound. (I hate the word “poise” with athletes, but I couldn’t think of a better one there.) In the sixth round, to get this sort of quality pitcher, seems like a good pick for the Cardinals. The rest after the jump per usual.

Through the Fence Baseball:

Kurt Heyer is a junior, right-handed pitcher for the Arizona Wildcats known for his supreme control, durability and advanced mound presence. He has been one of the top college pitchers in the country this season, going 9-2 with a 2.28 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 85 K/15 BB over 102.2 innings for the 17th-ranked team in the nation. He was recently named to the watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, given out annually to the top collegiate player in the country, and has been the team’s Friday night starter since day one of his freshman season.

Here’s Kurt in an Q&A on Through the Fence Baseball:

For those not familiar with your game, tell us about your style of pitching and repertoire.

People say I have an unconventional or unorthodox windup, but it’s not intentional. I know I don’t have a very overpowering fastball, but I try changing speeds with it to disrupt the hitter’s timing and keep him off-balance. I try to create a lot of deception with my pitches, go in-and-out with my fastball. My main goal is to stay aggressive with the hitters.

Which pitch have you worked on most over the past year?

I would say my slider. When I came in as a freshman, it wasn’t a dominant “out” pitch, it was more of a show pitch. I developed a curveball the summer after my sophomore year on my coaches’ suggestion, and this season, I’ve really worked on developing the slider, and I can say it’s an “out” pitch now.

You are known for having a slightly unorthodox delivery with a mid-to-low arm slot, almost sidearm. How did you pick it up and how do you use it to your advantage?

I’m not really sure how it happened. I’ve had multiple pitching coaches show me different slots and I kind of molded everything I learned into something of my own. I was over-the-top in high school, and then dropped down and it created a lot of deception.

Here is video of Kurt with the Orleans Cardinals on the Cape:

Here’s another pretty poor video (appears to be a cell phone camera of streaming video):

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