Draft Profile - SP Ian Krol, Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville IL

[BearSox]

Ian Krol, SP, Neuqua Valley HS - 6'1" 170 lbs. (Bats L | Throws L)

Scouting Report

Strengths: Very polished for a high school lefty, has 3 solid offerings. Has a low 90's fastball with some movement, a good tight curve, and a good change, with good command of all 3. Knows how to pitch.

 

Negatives: Was suspended for his Senior Season due to being caught drinking/being around alcohol. Is committed to Arizona and might be a tough sign.

 

Scouting Report Links

http://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerp...e.aspx?ID=68762

Krol has an excellent combination of feel for pitching and quality stuff. His fastball can reach into the low 90's, and is made even better by his ability to locate it and to mix in his secondary pitches.

http://baseball.uaallamerica.com/pub/athlete/Ian-Krol

Ian Krol is a 2009 LHP with a 6'1'', 176 lb. frame from Naperville, IL who attends Neuqua Valley. Krol sat at 89 in this outing touching 90 with a smooth delivery he repeats well. He showed the same good pitchability and command as always. He mixes three pitches very well and can spot them all. His curveball was very effective and tight and his change was good and he maintained fastball arm speed. Very effective LHP who knows how to pitch.

 

Statistics

Senior Year (2009) - No Stats

 

Junior Year (2008) - 0.98 ERA | 9-1 W-L | 2 No Hitters | 1 Perfect Game | 57 IP | 111 SO |

 

Sophomore Year (2007) - 1.13 ERA | 70 IP | 91 SO

 

Bio

http://www.aflacallamerican2008.com/ianKrol.asp

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/highs...0,7532060.story (article talking about his suspension)

 

Video

 

Projected Draft Slot

I'd say anywhere between rounds 3-7. He could be a tough sign though.

Player Comparison

Non Cy Young version of Cliff Lee.

My Take

I don't think the whole drinking/being around alcohol scenario is that bad of a thing, as I'd estimate the amount of teenagers that drink to be in around the 75% range (and that's a conservative guess). He was ranked at the 26th best high school player by BA coming into this season, but being suspended dropped him big time.

 

He has fallen likely out of the first 3 rounds, but perhaps in round 4 or 5, we could get a bit of a steal. Might be a tough sign, but if we pay him above slot, maybe we could get him to sign. He is a local product, and playing for the home town team might be tough to pass up as well.

Edited June 3, 2009 by BearSox

[Ozzie Ball]

If I'm drafting a high school arm this is the type of prospect I'd target, I think he sounds great. Here's another brief scouting report on him that just backs up what you've posted.

From the PGCrosschecker:

The factor that stood out most of all, though, was Krol’s pitching knowledge, particularly his ability to hide the ball and mix up his pitches. He throws

from a leglift delivery that has some effort and head jerk at release, but that doesn’t seem to affect his command and consistency a bit. Krol has

two quality offspeed pitches in addition to his fastball, and all three pitches look identical coming out of his hand. He pitches to spots with all of

them. His mid70s curveball is a strikeout pitch as it has a hard, late bite that overmatches hitters. His changeup has nice deception and arm speed

at 80 mph. Krol pitches with a very confident mound presence.

[fathom]

Huge make-up concerns with him. He went from a top 20 pick to being outside some top 200 lists. My wife works in a feeder school for Neuqua, and he was not well liked even before the final incident. I wouldn't be surprised to see a team like the Tigers go after him and pay him well above slot money

[JorgeFabregas]

So his middle school teachers didn't like him? Is that what you're saying?

[fathom]

So his middle school teachers didn't like him? Is that what you're saying?

 

Ha, it's given me the chance to talk to some of the people associated with the athletic department there. I don't believe he'll go to college though, and he'll sign for above slot money whenever he's picked.

[Chisoxfn]

I like his stuff and I like the idea of drafting him. HE's a kid, people change. If we judged Jenks on what people had said we wouldn't have our closer. Just put the people around him to help him succeed and for all we know he's changed recently.

 

I do think he's the type of guy you do extensive background research on though, but most importantly, talk to the kid.

[WHarris1]

I've seen him pitch a few times, talked to a lot of kids who have faced him. This kid has sick stuff but really needs to get his head on his shoulders.

 

It's not like he's just drank a few times though, there are definite character concerns here.

Edited June 4, 2009 by WHarris1

[Ozzie Ball]

From a BA chat:

joe (wisconsin): Just curious, you've got Ian Krol at number 184 among pitchers, why so low? I saw him pitch in an independant league game on May 31 against DI and Juco players, he struck out 16 in less than 75 pitches. His fastball sat between 90-92 and he's got a nasty change up.

 

 

Conor Glassey: He's a wildcard in the draft, for sure. He was 88-90 mph last summer, but was down to 86-88 this spring and it's been tough for teams to see him as he's only been pitching on Sundays in Wisconsin. I wouldn't put a lot of stock into his stats up there, but if he really was 90-92, he could go higher than No. 184. Still, I know teams are worried about the makeup issues after getting kicked off his HS team. If you're investing that much money in a kid (and Krol still wants top dollar), you have to be able to trust that you can send him off to live away from home and be responsible enough to keep his head on straight. That said, I like Ian. I've talked to him for a couple articles and he seems like a good kid. Who hasn't made mistakes as an 18-year-old? It happens, and I think he made the right decision in not riding home with the student that had alcohol in his car, but it still bit him because it was a second offense.