Chris
Murphy

3/2/19: Murphy is a very athletic, twitchy southpaw with a slight frame at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds and a very quick arm. He's been a strikeout machine since he's been on campus at USD, racking up 222 punchouts in 178.2 career innings, but he's also struggled to really harness his control, walking 89 batters in his career and 17 through 28.1 innings this year. Still, he's having his best season yet; after posting ERAs in the 4s in each of his first two seasons, he's 2-1, 2.54 through five starts this year. Murphy has a smooth, repeatable delivery from a high three-quarters slot. He has shown better velocity in the past, but he sat at 89-92 for five innings last Saturday against Minnesota, though the pitch plays up because of its life. He recorded a number of strikeouts using a big downer curveball with tight rotation. He has very good feel for that pitch, showing the ability to add and subtract from the offering, which ranged from 68-76 mph. He also features a quality 79-83 changeup with good arm speed, and that pitch can be his best weapon at times. Both the curveball and changeup project comfortably as average offerings, and both could wind up above-average. The key for him going forward is to finetune his command. We projected Murphy as a third-round pick heading into the season, and he still likely fits in the 3-5 round range, with a chance to go a tick higher if he performs well and shows a bit more velocity in the second half. (Fitt)

8/5/18: Athletic frame, 6’1/185. Good body control. Quick and clean arm action to three-quarters slot. Simple delivery with aggressive finish. Strong lead leg. Maintains good arm speed on everything. Established fastball early. Ranged from 90-93 mph with tail at times. Flatter plane; must develop additional fastball life by cutting or sinking. Flashed average curveball at 70-74 mph with 2/8 rotation and average depth at times. Tight spin considering the lower velocity. Threw to both sides of the plate. Best secondary pitch was an above average changeup at 77-80 mph. Hard, late sink out of the zone. Tunnels same as fastball. Very good feel and arm speed. Tough on right-handed hitters. Quick to plate from stretch; held runners well. Overall, as a low-90s lefty with two useable off speed pitches, Murphy profiles as a back end starter and has Day Two draft potential if he can develop more fastball life and pound the zone with all of his pitches more frequently. (Seifert)