How Pirates prospect Khristian Curtis went from two elbow surgeries to the Fall League

Oct 30, 2024

Jonathan Mayo

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The fact that Khristian Curtis is throwing from any mound at all is somewhat amazing. That he’s doing it now in the Arizona Fall League is almost hard to fathom.

But here he was on Monday night firing four shutout innings for Scottsdale in an eventual 3-1 loss to Salt River. It’s something the Pirates' No. 27 prospect does not take for granted given the injury adversity he has been forced to work through to get to this point.

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It all started during Curtis' freshman year at Texas A&M in 2021, when he missed the entire year after having ulnar transposition surgery. He returned in 2022 and made five starts for the Aggies, though he knew something wasn’t right. His velocity dipped rapidly over the brief time he was active, and in his last outing, his right arm -- capable of throwing upper-90s fastballs -- was shaking involuntarily and uncontrollably at his side.

It turned out that stitches remaining from the first surgery were on his nerve, so every pitch he threw, the nerve was being further frayed. Curtis was likely just a small number of throws away from doing irreparable damage to his arm. The second surgery took five-and-a-half hours, and at one point, members of the medical team told Curtis’ parents the nerve damage was so severe that not only might he not pitch again, he might not have full use of his arm.

“The doctors didn't really want me to throw another baseball, just with the damage that was done in my original surgery,” Curtis explained. “And so I'm blessed to be able to keep throwing the baseball, keep doing what I do.”

Curtis leaned, and continues to lean, heavily on his faith to guide him through all of it, and who can blame him? While he seems to be continuing to improve, there are still times when he doesn’t have full feeling in all his fingertips. It would be a perfectly legitimate explanation for scattered command at times throughout his career, but the 22-year old is not one to make excuses.

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After the second surgery, Curtis transferred to Arizona State -- he’s enjoyed reconnecting with the Sun Devils’ staff and getting to know the current team while back in the desert in the Fall League -- and pitched well enough out of the rotation to land in Round 12 of the 2023 Draft. The Pirates gave the redshirt sophomore close to $500,000 -- well over slot -- to sign. And while he missed a chunk of the season with a hamstring issue, and part of the reason why Curtis is in Arizona is to make up for some lost innings, the arm has held up just fine.

“I'm still regaining feeling in my right hand -- it's starting to come back a lot more than it was when I first woke up from surgery,” Curtis said. “But it's a process. They told me, ‘What you have now might be all you get when you come back.' They say the nerve heals a millimeter a day, so it's still a work in progress, but just trusting that it's going to all come back normal. I feel great now, haven't had any pain, just excited to be back.”

Though the scars will always be a reminder, the 6-foot-5 right-hander does not want to be defined by his medical past, so he was happy to talk about his most recent outing. Scouts have thought Curtis has the chance to start because he has a legitimate four-pitch mix, though that lack of command along with his injury history will always give some pause.

On Monday, even though his cutter -- typically his best secondary offering -- wasn’t as sharp, he did throw his 94-96 mph fastball for strikes, showed a better curve and even delivered a couple of really good changeups. That’s a pitch, Curtis explained, he loves to throw using a four-fingered four-seam grip, but that he can’t always use effectively when he doesn’t have as much feeling in his hand.

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Thus far this fall, Curtis has had two good outings and two rough ones. He threw three perfect innings to kick off his AFL campaign on Oct. 8, and on Monday he allowed just one hit and one walk over four frames. Finding the strike zone remains the key. He walked 4.9 per nine at ASU in 2023, 4.7 per nine with Single-A Bradenton this season. He issued just one free pass combined in his two good outings for Scottsdale; in his two rough ones, he walked six over just 3 1/3 innings.

Curtis faced just seven batters and recorded just one out in his previous start on Oct. 22, yielding five runs (four earned) on two hits and three walks. The turnaround is partly due to some physical and mechanical adjustments he knows he needs to always keep an eye on.

“It's really just my back leg, whenever I collapse, I lose balance on the mound,” Curtis said. “[In a previous outing in] Mesa, I was really getting on the outside of my foot and just kind of sliding and rotating off and losing my balance. Whenever I keep a strong, tall back leg, everything is right in place where it needs to be, arm’s on time. The landing is linear … and so it all just falls into place whenever I keep a strong and taller backside.”

And some of the adjustments are mental, and it’s clear that what has enabled him to keep going helps him maintain perspective.

“I was just keeping things simple,” Curtis said. “I know last week got to me pretty good, just things out of my control that happened, and so just being able to flush it, move on, trust in my ability, and thanking God for being able each week to go back out there and play.”