Prospect Stuff

[evolver115]

Wandy Rodriguez will also be in the mix, as I'm sure he will pick up the player option for next year.

 

[sychmd]

hey crow, why are you down on heredia.
at age 18, he pitched very well in A-, the same league glasnow was in.
beinig from another country and pitching as the youngest in hte league 2 years in a row, while trying to mature psychologically, and then handling it well, that seems impressive to me.
no injuries either.

 

[thecrow124]

hey crow, why are you down on heredia.
at age 18, he pitched very well in A-, the same league glasnow was in.
beinig from another country and pitching as the youngest in hte league 2 years in a row, while trying to mature psychologically, and then handling it well, that seems impressive to me.
no injuries either.

Because he is basically the same pitcher at 18 that he was at 16. Still throwing 90-93, with no other above average pitches. He is also erratic at times and came into the season out of shape to the point where he didn't increase his innings enough to be able to handle a full season next year. This is not to say that hebwon't develop into a good or even above average pitcher, I just don't see him as being on the same level as Glasnow, Taillon, Holmes, Cole but more along the lines of Cumpton, Kozikowski, and that sort. Which to me would be a disappointment since he has much more talent that that level of pitcher.

 

[Etrius24]

Let's just hope that because he was able to pitch at a high level at such a young age he will take a giant step forward once things start to click for him... assuming they click at all.

 

[sychmd]

he came in at 18yo, away from his country, learning a new language, but instead of wasting a year, he quickly turned it around as the youngest at his level.
he gets to altoona this year and his body will mature and he will harness the extra strength and be a horse. no arm troubles yet.

if he was 23 and came out of shape, then i would be concerned. at 18, if he was really out of shape, you would think he would have lost the whole year.

he didnt lose innings as he was throwing the whole time. in a real game, no. in batting practice, simulated games, bullpen sessions, yes.

 

[thecrow124]

he came in at 18yo, away from his country, learning a new language, but instead of wasting a year, he quickly turned it around as the youngest at his level.
he gets to altoona this year and his body will mature and he will harness the extra strength and be a horse. no arm troubles yet.

if he was 23 and came out of shape, then i would be concerned. at 18, if he was really out of shape, you would think he would have lost the whole year.

he didnt lose innings as he was throwing the whole time. in a real game, no. in batting practice, simulated games, bullpen sessions, yes.

I know I used the innings term, but honestly I don't think Pirates brass counts innings, I am pretty sure they institute a "pitches thrown in game situation," type of strategy. Also factoring in pitches thrown in high leverage situations, and pitches per inning. My thinking on this is that our pitchers almost never go beyond 100 pitches, AJ being the biggest exception, they are almost strictly limited to 30 pitches per inning max, and never allowed to throw more than 30/inning twice in the same game. Hurdle also alluded to this earlier in the year when he said 100 pitches in the minors is really only equivalent to 80 major league pitches.

This could also be an explaination for why Gerrit Cole has been allowed to increase his innings so much this year without talk of him being shut down. Per Hurdle's calculations he only averaged about 60 pitches per game in the minors this year and none of those were in high leverage situations. If the magic pitch number for a starter is 3600 pitches per year (roughly 110-115pitches per start), then Cole is no where near that and therefore in no need of being shut down. All of that is not to say that his innings and stuff aren't being watched, just maybe not as closely as one might think.

All of that is said to say this, if this is truely the case then Heredia lost a lot of innings this year, or game pitches if you will. If not then this is just a long winded ramble about the innerworkings of my feeble mind.

 

[steelparrot]

BA ranks Harold Ramirez as #1 prospect in NYPL, only Pirate to make the list.

Harold Ramirez is the Top Prospect in the NYPL | Pirates Prospects


It seems there is no end to our pipeline of talent

 

[element1286]

Tyler Glasnow, Harold Ramirez rank high on prospect lists - Bucs Dugout

Some real good comments in here related to Pirates prospects from a BA chat.

 

[thedddd]

Interesting at the end of the year that Jamestown team had 3 catchers all in the Pirates top 20 prospects. Wonder if one will move away from catcher? Mathisen didn't catch that much in High School wonder if he will move? But with Sanchez already in the majors they are looking to be pretty deep not only at P but at C. Both good positions to have plenty of talent.

 

[element1286]

Interesting at the end of the year that Jamestown team had 3 catchers all in the Pirates top 20 prospects. Wonder if one will move away from catcher? Mathisen didn't catch that much in High School wonder if he will move? But with Sanchez already in the majors they are looking to be pretty deep not only at P but at C. Both good positions to have plenty of talent.

That's a good point, I would think Jhang and McGuire start in WV next year, splitting the games, with the other one DH'ing when not catching.

I'd guess Mathisen starts in instructs then goes to Jamestown, since he seems raw on defense. Or maybe they do move him, but the bat doesn't look ready to move up. So I doubt he starts a WV either way.

 

[thedddd]

Welker was officially the PTBNL to the Twins:

Twins Acquire Duke Welker: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

 

[element1286]

Welker was officially the PTBNL to the Twins:

Twins Acquire Duke Welker: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

Clears up 40-man space, good move for both sides.

 

[thedddd]

With Welker at first I was like they are giving up another pitching prospect. Then realized how old he was so yeah good move for both.

 

[thecrow124]

Welker and Black are probably going to be closers for their new teams next year, so both trades look like they will be wins for both teams. Morneau and Byrd helped us into the playoffs, and the Mets and Twins picked up closer types, that at worst can be future trade pieces.

 

[thecrow124]

BA FSL top 20 is out and Pirates are well represented. #4 is Polanco, 11 is Kingham, 13 is Hansen. This was a very strong league for prospects, Buxton, Sano, and Baez all qualified for this ranking and took up the top 3 positions. Kingham at 11 isa bit of a surprise since he is ahead of Hansen for the first time I have seen, this should almost ensure him a top 100 ranking going into next season.

 

[element1286]

BA FSL top 20 is out and Pirates are well represented. #4 is Polanco, 11 is Kingham, 13 is Hansen. This was a very strong league for prospects, Buxton, Sano, and Baez all qualified for this ranking and took up the top 3 positions. Kingham at 11 isa bit of a surprise since he is ahead of Hansen for the first time I have seen, this should almost ensure him a top 100 ranking going into next season.

Agreed, that is surprising, especially for BA, who really stress upside more than performance. Unless they are really down on Hanson.

 

[element1286]

With Welker at first I was like they are giving up another pitching prospect. Then realized how old he was so yeah good move for both.

Yep, he was a Littlefield guy.

 

[thecrow124]

Agreed, that is surprising, especially for BA, who really stress upside more than performance. Unless they are really down on Hanson.

I am not sure they are that down on Hansen, he is still the 13th rated prospect in a league that has 4 top 25 prospects. Has he dropped, yes, but should still be top 50-75. I think Kingham's ranking is on his performance and that fact that with his increased velocity his two well above average to dominant pitches to go along with an average change-up. When drafted he had #3 upside/innings eater attached to him, now he is a strong #2 type with an inning eaters body, who has developed swing and miss pitches.

 

[steelparrot]

2013 Draft Report Cards: First Impressions Of The Draft Classes - BaseballAmerica.com


BA has us ranked #1 , guess with 2 first rounders, we needed a good draft, 4th best late round pick.

Also, the Pirates added another rookie team in Bristol(Appy league), more chances for someone to develop rather than sit on the bench, so it cant be a bad move.

 

[steelparrot]

Tailon # 6 Polanco #7 Kingham #15 in the eastern league

Taillon, Polanco, and Kingham are Top Eastern League Prospects | Pirates Prospects