CJ Van Eyk is a junior pitcher out of Florida State University. The 6’1″ right-handed pitcher started 18 games last year as a sophomore after coming out of the bullpen in his freshmen season. He finished with a 10-4 record and a 3.81 ERA. He ranks 39th in this years prospect draft board.
In 2020, he was labeled as the Friday night starter and went 1-1 with a 1.31 ERA in only four starts. He is projected to be an early-second-round pick with hopeful eyes of sneaking into the late first round.
CJ graduated in 2017 from Steinbrenner High School in Tampa Florida and was taken by the New York Mets in the 19th round. He opted to enroll at Florida State University where he had verbally committed since his junior year.
At FSU, he saw a rise in velocity and confidence. His fastball can get up to mid 90’s but is more consistently sitting around 92-94. As he continues to get stronger, his fastball may sit comfortably at 95-96. He also possesses an above average curve ball with sharp 12-6 bite and a decent change up for his third pitch.
Strengths
While his fastball has nice sink and arm-side run, it’s his curve ball that is by far his best pitch. It is especially tough on left-handed hitters where he can backdoor it for a called strike or throw to the back foot for a swing-and-miss pitch. It has a near 12-6 break and can be tough to pick up. When on his “A” game, it can be a very effective out pitch for him on his way to the show.
He has very quick feet which allow him to control the running game. In his first start this season, he picked off two base runners. Not something you see many right-handed pitchers do. This also allows him to get off the mound and field his position.
The ball comes out with very easy effort. His fastball is sneaky at times due to a relaxed delivery. This can be tough for opposing hitters to judge his velocity. When he speeds up their bats, that makes his curve ball even more dangerous.
Weaknesses
Van Eyk has two weaknesses that come to mind but both are easy to improve. One is his strength and durability. He can afford to put on some more muscle and weight which will help him stay healthy and get that fastball into the comfortable mid-90s range. A few ticks higher on his fastball will make his off-speed pitches that much more electric.
He wants to develop a more productive third pitch. Heading into his junior year at Florida State, his change up was his third pitch. It’s good enough, but not ideal for a starting pitcher’s selection. This year, he added a tight slider to make four effective pitches. He didn’t have much of a chance to showcase it, but it was said to become a great equalizer to right handed hitters. If he can throw two different breaking balls at two different speeds, then his repertoire will be that much more advanced.
MLB Comparison
CJ Van Eyk compares well with another Tampa-area prospect from years back in Lance McCullers Jr. Lance and CJ are nearly identical in size and possess very similar arsenals. Like McCullers, CJ’s best pitch is his curve ball. Both pitchers can use it early and late in counts and allows their fastball to seem a few MPH faster than it really is. They both sit in the low-to-mid 90’s and can get plenty of swings and misses when their stuff is moving.
Bottom Line
Look for CJ Van Eyk to hear his name called toward the back end of the first round or make someone really happy by slipping into the second round. Either way, the team who drafts him will have a strong starting pitcher who can be a middle-of-the-rotation starter in the big leagues.
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
