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Overview
School: University of Florida
Position: Left-handed Pitcher
Height: 6′ 7”
Weight: 230 lbs.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
A.J. Puk 2016 MLB Draft Profile
A.J.’s father, Dr. David Puk, was a four-year football letterman and Academic All-American at the University of Minnesota in the early to mid-1980s. His uncle, J.J. Puk, was an All-Big Ten linebacker at the University of Iowa in the late ‘80s, and two other uncles, Steven and Kevin Puk, were football lettermen at Minnesota and Stanford, respectively, in the ‘80s and the ‘90s.
Listed at 6-foot-1, 160-pounds, A.J. Puk was already being recognized as one the top athletes in Eastern Iowa, if not the entire state, by the time he was finishing up his freshman year at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids (Iowa). As a sophomore in the fall of 2010, the strong-armed Puk was Washington’s starting varsity quarterback and led them to the Iowa Class 4A football playoffs. A year later, the growing 6-foot-4, 190-pound Puk, upped his fastball velocity from 78 mph in the 2010 PG Iowa Spring League to 87 mph at the PG Midwest Top Prospect Showcase in August 2011.
Kevin Barry – Northeast scout for the Atlanta Braves – said this about Puk in an interview with our very own Max Rosenfeld: “Tremendous progress since high school… his velocity went up. Think he’ll be a great draft choice. Whoever drafts him is getting a real quality starter.” The now 6-foot-7, 230-pound Florida junior has been mentioned in the “first player picked overall” conversation in the upcoming 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft’s first-round. That would make Puk the first native Iowan and first Florida Gator ever selected with the top overall pick.
Strengths
- Size and Strength
- Fastball velocity (96-97mph)
- Maintains velocity deep into starts
- Excelled in the classroom, great mentality
- Chance of 3+ pitches
Weaknesses
- Inconsistency with commanding pitches
- Injury history (back spasms)
- Underdeveloped change-up
MLB Comparison: Andrew Miller, New York Yankees
Projected pick range: 1-6
Most Likely Landing Spot: Philadelphia Phillies
Bottom Line: Big and strong, A.J. Puk arguably has the best raw stuff of any arm in the class. However, time on the shelf with back spasms made Puk more of a wild card than hoped. Barring injury, he has a pretty clear big league skill set in some capacity.
Sources: MLB 2016 Prospect Watch, Perfect Game USA
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