- Wilbur Miller's 2008 Draft Signed/Unsigned
Most Notable signings: Pedro Alvarez, Robbie Grossman, Quinton Miller
Pedro Alvarez
Taking the player that most scouts viewed as the top player (and hardest to sign) was a must for Neal Huntington’s first draft. After a long and drawn out process, Alvarez was signed in August 2008 and started his ascent in the Pirates system this spring. Alvarez was started out in High A Lynchburg where he hit 14 home runs and 55 RBI in 66 games. While a .247 average and 70 strike outs won’t get most prospects called up, Alvarez hit well towards the end of his tenure there and was definitely deserving. Alvarez has continued hitting well with a .343 average through 45 games. Alvarez’s power stroke has continued to show as he has 9 home runs, 14 doubles, and 28 RBI in that time. Huntington has already stated Alvarez won’t join bash brother Jose Tabata in AAA Indianapolis, but look for Alvarez to make the move at some point in 2010 with a possible Major League call up.
Robbie Grossman
Grossman was a lock to go to Texas before the draft; that is until the Pirates decided to throw $1million his way and pay his college tuition. Grossman was billed as a 5 tool player, which the Pirates appeared to be lacking at the time in their system. Grossman made his way into the system soon enough to get a few games in at the Gulf Coast level, but didn’t do much, batting .188 with an RBI and a stolen base in 21 plate appearances. Grossman has done pretty well for a 19 year old this year at Low A West Virginia batting .275 and 31 stolen bases through 97 games. Grossman appears to show his age with a gaudy 133 strike out total, but has done well getting on base with 60 walks. Grossman has yet to flash much power only hitting 5 home runs and 19 doubles in his first year. Look for Grossman to improve on those numbers once he gets more acclimated to pro ball. While it hasn’t been a huge start to his pro career, Grossman has set himself up for a solid 2010.
Quinton Miller
When the Pirates initially drafted Miller they seemed like a long shot to sign him. I was actually shocked when I heard he somehow got signed. The Pirates ponied up $900k and stole him from his commitment to UNC. Miller was rated the #158 prospect by Baseball America and the top prospect in New Jersey. He started his pro career this year out in State college, but only pitched 7 innings over 2 starts there giving up 10 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 4 strike outs. I guess the Pirates saw enough in him to promote him to West Virginia. He has had an up and down time there spotting a 5.59 ERA through 8 starts. He is averaging 9 hits/9 inn and 5.6K/9inn. Miller, like Grossman, should improve as he learns to become a better pitcher. Miller does have one weird stat about him though. In 2 day game starts he’s given up a total of 11 earned runs (0-1 12.38 ERA). In 6 night game starts he has given up only 12 earned runs (2-2 3.72 ERA). With such a small sample size to go off, hold off on your opinions on Miller. He will be 20 years old next year and it could be a very pivotal year for the bonus baby, especially with the crop of young guys from the 2009 draft nipping at his heels.
Most notable players unsigned: Tanner Scheppers, Patrick Palmeiro, Zachary Wilson
Tanner Scheppers
Scheppers was a top 10 prospect before he suffered a stress fracture, dropping his stock considerably. The Pirates took a chance on him and he ended up wanting top 10 money, rather than what the Pirates considered a reasonable offer. Scheppers was taken by the Texas Rangers with their supplemental first round pick. Scheppers has been rumored to be injured and continues to ask for the moon when it comes to his signing bonus. Scheppers has worked out for Japanese scouts and has been given a clean bill of health. It doesn’t appear that Scheppers signed with Texas this year either, so look for him to play internationally for a year or two and try to work out a deal with an MLB team. There was this little tidbit that says Scheppers can “hold out for as long as he wants”. I’m not sure how that works, or if it’s even true, but it sounds like Scheppers really wants to get big bucks and show he can be the dominant player people thought he was before the injury. I loved the videos I saw of Scheppers and I wish him all the luck in his pursuit. I just wish he would’ve signed with the Pirates when they drafted him!
Patrick Palmeiro
The Pirates took a flyer on power hitting son of Rafael Palmeiro. The Pirates made an effort to sign Palmeiro, but he ultimately chose not to sign. It was tough to dig up info on him, but it appears he’s playing at Grayson County Junior College. You can check up on him more here.
Zachary Wilson
Wilson was a player that was highly regarded, especially in terms of power, but possibly fell to the 26th round because he is a Scott Boras client. I couldn’t dig up any information on how the Pirates approached him, but he eventually didn’t sign and went to Arizona State. Wilson hit 0 home runs in 26 games. He also batted .275 with 6 walks and 18 strike outs. 0 home runs in 26 games is a shocking number when scouts talk about him being a power hitter, but it could be due to him being a freshman. He hit only 5 his senior year in HS, but look for him to develop some power once he hits the weight room a little more.
Biggest surprises: Jarek Cunningham, Chase D’Arnaud, Brian Leach
Jarek Cunningham
Cunningham wasn’t expected to sign with the Pirates right from high school, but did and was a pleasant surprise in the Gulf Coast League. Due to the bevy of shortstops taken by the Pirates in the 2008 draft, he split time between SS and 3B. In 43 games he batted .318 with 5 HR and 22 RBI. It’s a wonder if he will stay at 3B as he had 8 errors in 26 games. Unfortunately Cunningham tore his ACL and has lost the 2009 season. 2010 will be a big year for Cunningham. He will turn 20 and is a highly regarded prospect in the Pirates system. Time will tell if Cunninham can handle the pressure and continue to build on one of the most solid debuts of any 2008 Pirates draft pick.
Chase D’Arnaud
It’s hard to call D’Arnaud a surprise when he’s a 4th round pick, but D’Arnaud has separated himself from the other shortstops taken along with him and appears to be moving along nicely through the system. He batted .286 with 1 HR and 28 RBI in his first pro season with State College. He started the year out with West Virginia, but has since moved on to Lynchburg, where he has a respectable .279 batting average through 33 games along with 3 HR and 22 RBI drawing 20 walks and only striking out 21 times. D’Arnaud has been playing solid defense at SS and 2B while SS prospect Jordy Mercer gets a good look at SS. While D’Arnaud’s numbers aren’t eye popping, he has stayed consistent and could find himself with the major league club at some point.
Brian Leach
It took a lot of searching but I may have found the only good pitching prospect in the Pirates 2008 draft that has actually produced. Leach was picked in the 25th round and throws 94, although some scouts believe his velocity could increase with time. As a starter Leach has a 3.03 ERA in 7 starts with 18 strike outs and only 9 walks. It appears Leach has been used in middle/long relief as well and has an even better 2.74 ERA, 47 strikeouts and 23 walks in 20 appearances totaling 49.1 innings. Leach is now 23 years old and at Low A so if he can improve a level and his performance each year we may see him at the big league level sometime, especially with Huntington’s love affair with flame throwers. Leach could be showing signs of fatigue as he has given up 14 runs in his past 22.2 innings (spanning 5 games). There is a cluster of starters at WV so it’s unknown whether Leach will be a reliever or a starter. He’s had plenty of 4-6 inning “relief” appearances, including a 6 inning appearance with Rudy Owens (who only pitched 3 innings) on July 28 where he gave up the only hit in a shut out of Charleston. Perhaps 2010 Leach will have a more defined role and we will know more, but he has some fairly impressive stats and could turn out to be one of the better pitchers from this draft class.
Disappointments: Wes Freeman, Justin Wilson, Name a Pitcher
Wes Freeman
Freeman was called a 5 tool prospect and at 19 still has a lot to show, however his .213 batting average in Bradenton is a shocker. His 13 home runs, however, leave some semblance of hope. 2010 could be a defining year for Freeman. Can he put his 2009 batting average behind him and work on showing why he was a 5 tool player coming out of high school? Freeman needs to get out of Bradenton next year like fellow 2008 pick Grossman. It appears most Pirates prospects are striking out a lot (47 in 43 games for Freeman) so hopefully this will be addressed in the near future. It’s way too early to give up on Freeman, especially at only 19, but a .213 batting average at Rookie Level can be really detrimental.
Justin Wilson
Wilson irked some Pirates fans by demanding a huge, unwarranted bonus, but eventually signed. He has continued to irk some Pirates fans by being completely terrible for a good part of the year at Lynchburg. Wilson will turn 22 tomorrow and has sported a 4.83 ERA striking out 72 and walking 48 in 23 starts. Wilson has gone on a hot streak lately giving up only 2 runs in his past 5 starts (27.1 innings). I may be being too hard on Wilson since he appeared to be a reach for the Pirates in the 5th round and he has turned it on recently, but the fact that he wanted way too much money (some rumored $1mil, he eventually signed for slot) and that it delayed his pro debut almost solidified his spot on this list. His poor start to his career has him here, but if his past handful of starts is a sign of him learning how to pitch, Wilson could turn into a #5 starter some day, however I wouldn’t expect it.
Pitching
Again, it’s very early but besides Leach and Miller, go through the list of pitchers taken in the draft and tell me which ones have looked successful? I’m having a hard time finding any. Ultimately, time will tell and the Pirates did a much better job in 2009 of getting pitching, but this class looks like a Dave Littlefield draft when it comes to pitchers (with Miller being the lone exception). I really don’t expect many to improve and you could actually see 0 pitchers from this class make it to the big leagues; however your best bets may be Miller, Leach, Wilson, or perhaps someone left off this list.
2008 Draft One Year Later Thoughts
While it is WAY too early to tell what the draft class will look like, it appears the Pirates got a few good prospects to work with in Grossman, Miller, D’Arnaud and Leach and a possible can’t miss prospect with Alvarez. Some other players to look out for include Jarek Cunningham, Matt Hague and power hitting/giant first baseman Calvin Anderson. The Pirates got a few toolsy prospects in Grossman and Wes Freeman that are only 19 in their first full year of pro ball. The only thing missing from the draft was a few pitchers that might get a look as prospects. Miller isn’t a sure thing and Wilson may be a fringe prospect, so I hope somebody steps up from this class and comes out of nowhere, ala Rudy Owens from 2007. This draft was a good first step for the new Pirates regime and it looks they took an even bigger step in 2009. Ultimately I think this was a solid draft compared to the Littlefield years where signable players and college seniors were taken like they were going out of style. Huntington has shaken up baseball by offering way above slot for guys taken later in the draft, let’s just hope this is the draft we look back at where it all started!
No comments:
Post a Comment