Rob Zastryzny

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2013
A-:  0-0-0, 3.14 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 2.5 BB/9, 10.0 K/9
A:  1-0-0, 0.93 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 9.2 IP, 3.7 BB/9, 5.6 K/9

Zastryzny had a good debut, mostly as a starter.  Baseball America ranked him 20th in the Cubs’ system after the season.

2014
A+:  4-6-0, 4.66 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 110.0 IP, 2.7 BB/9, 9.0 K/9

Still pitching as a starter Zastryzny got hit around some in the pitching-dominated Florida State League.  Opponents put up a 279/340/449 line against him, all well above the league averages.  He did improve a good deal after a rough time in the first two months.  BA ranked him 14th in the system.

2015
R:  0-0-0, 2.25 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 4.5 BB/9, 9.0 K/9
AA:  2-5-0, 6.23 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 60.2 IP, 4.2 BB/9, 7.1 K/9

After missing May and most of June with a broken ankle, Zastryzny struggled in AA.  His control slipped and opponents put up an .896 OPS against him.

2016
AA:  3-2-0, 4.28 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 54.2 IP, 3.3 BB/9, 6.9 K/9
AAA:  7-3-0, 4.33 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 81.0 IP, 3.4 BB/9, 8.6 K/9
MLB:  1-0-0, 1.13 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 16.0 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 9.6 K/9

The Cubs sent Zastryany to AA and he pitched just decently through nine starts.  In late May, they moved him up to AAA.  He mostly struggled there, but had a good run in late July and early August.  The Cubs called him up and he pitched well in middle relief the rest of the season.  BA restored him to the #14 ranking in the system.

2017
R:  0-1-0, 1.04 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 8.2 IP, 1.0 BB/9, 4.2 K/9
AAA:  2-3-1, 5.94 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 47.0 IP, 2.7 BB/9, 7.7 K/9
MLB:  0-0-0, 8.31 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 13.0 IP, 4.8 BB/9, 7.6 K/9

Zastryzny went back to AAA and pitched in relief until he got called up in early May.  After one appearance, he went out for two months with a back injury.  He returned to AAA in late July, still pitching in relief, and mostly got hit hard, then he returned to Chicago for three rough appearances in September.

2018
AAA:  3-2-0, 3.86 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 56.0 IP, 4.5 BB/9, 8.0 K/9
MLB:  1-0-0, 4.76 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 5.2 IP, 6.4 BB/9, 4.8 K/9

Zastryzny spent most of the season pitching in relief in AAA, getting just a few brief callups.  He mostly pitched well in AAA; one meltdown inflated his ERA, but his control wasn’t good overall.  The Cubs outrighted him at the beginning of September and he became a free agent after the season.

2019
AA:  1-2-0, 0.96 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 18.2 IP, 3.9 BB/9, 9.6 K/9
AAA:  3-6-0, 6.49 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 94.1 IP, 3.0 BB/9, 8.0 K/9

Zastryzny signed a minor league deal with the Angels at the end of spring training.  He spent most of the season in AAA, mainly as a starter.  He struggled badly, getting sent down to AA for a while in July.  Opponents put up an .851 OPS against him on the season.  Afterward, he became a free agent again and signed with Baltimore.

2020
DNP

Zastryzny never pitched for the Orioles in the pandemic season.  They released him in September.

2021
R:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 1.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 27.0 K/9
AAA:  3-0-2, 3.68 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 29.1 IP, 4.6 BB/9, 12.6 K/9

Zastryzny was out of organized baseball until early May, when he signed a minor league deal with Miami.  He spent the rest of the season pitching in relief in AAA.  He fanned a lot of hitters, but also allowed a lot of baserunners.  In the fall, he signed a minor league deal with the Mets.

2022
AAA (NYM):  1-5-1, 3.61 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 47.1 IP, 3.6 BB/9, 11.2 K/9
AAA (LAA):  0-0-0, 2.25 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 8.0 IP, 1.1 BB/9, 10.1 K/9
MLB (NYM):  0-0-0, 9.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 1.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 9.0 K/9
MLB (LAA):  0-0-0, 6.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 3.0 BB/9, 6.0 K/9

With the Mets, Zastryzny pitched in relief in AAA until mid-August.  He again pitched just decently, with a lot of strikeouts but also a lot of baserunners.  In August, the Mets called him up, but they designated him for assignment two days later.  The Angels claimed him and he pitched eight times for them in AAA and five times in the majors.  They removed him from the roster after the season and he signed with the Pirates.

There’s not much in Zastryzny’s history to suggest much upside, but he had a strong spring and made the team to start the season.  He was helped by an injury to Jarlin Garcia.

Zastryzny pitched regularly for the Pirates through mid-April, then went on the injured list.  He returned in late May and continued pitching frequently until mid-June, when he went back on the injured list.  He wasn’t especially effective for them in the majors.  In early July, the Pirates designated him for assignment when they activated Ji-Man Choi from the 60-day injured list.