Day Two Draft Roundup
by Charlie
on Jun 6, 2008 10:08 PM EDT
The seventh through fiftieth rounds of the draft were today. It's tricky to say much of anything yet about the guys the Pirates pick, but here are some tidbits and basic impressions. I'm going to try to round up more information in the coming days and weeks.
-P- First, a big-time shout-out to the many people who hung out in the Day Two Open Thread and tracked down information about each pick. Until Pirates minor league super-fan WTM weighs in, this thread is probably the single best source of information about these players available anywhere on the web. Some of the links that follow come from there. Kudos to everyone who participated, and the curious among you who didn't should check it out.
-P- A scouting report on yesterday's sixth round pick, Robert Grossman, suggests he could have gone as high as the supplemental first round.
-P- Baseball America reports that 7th-rounder Benjie Gonzalez and 27th-rounder Edwin Roman, both from the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, are both defense-first picks. Roman, in particular, isn't much of a hitter, so it's possible the Pirates view him as an organizational player. That's not a big deal for a 27th-round pick, of course.
-P- Eighth-rounder Jeremy Farrell, son of Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell, looks like a great pick. He's a corner infielder from the University of Virginia. His power came along pretty well this year. Before that, he wasn't much of a power hitter, and he's not a great defender, so he'll have to keep hitting to make it to the big leagues. Bat speed may be an issue.
-P- Tenth rounder Drew Gagnon, a high school pitcher from California, looks like he might be a real prospect, but he'll be a tough sign: he's supposed to pitch for Long Beach State next year.
-P- 15th rounder Chris Aure is from North Pole HS. Yes, North Pole, which isn't that close to the actual North Pole but is instead near Fairbanks, Alaska. Baseball America:
Aure is the best prep product from Alaska in years, probably since Chad Bentz came out of Juneau in the late 1990s. Bentz was signed out of Long Beach State and pitched briefly in the majors; Aure might be a better prospect. He’s not as physical but he has solid velocity in the mid-to-upper 80s, he’s touched the low 90s, and he’s shown solid-average secondary stuff. A 6-footer, he’s not typically projectable but he also is from the NORTH POLE. Well, not really, because North Pole, Alaska, is right around Fairbanks. But the point is, this guy has never been a full-time baseball player, and he could get a lot better with more experience.
Interesting. Sounds like there's upside here.
-P- 16th rounder Wesley Freeman, a high schooler from Florida, looks like a very good pick. Baseball America reports that he has "outstanding raw power."
-P- 19th rounder Jason Haniger was Matt Wieters' backup at Georgia Tech. He hit very well this year.
-P- 20th rounder Quinton Miller looks like a great prospect but will be a very tough sign.
-P- 22nd rounder Pat Palmeiro is Rafael's son.
Check out the complete comment thread for more information. I'll wait for WTM and other to weigh in here, but my preliminary assessment is this: Wow is this different from a typical Littlefield draft. It's just night and day. There are signability issues and upside all over this draft, including in a few players I didn't mention here. Littlefield would routinely spend tons of draft picks on players who didn't even have good numbers in college. He'd sign them, and then, to no one's surprise, they'd flop in the minors. That didn't happen this year.
The Pirates aren't going to sign all these guys, but they'll sign some of them.The Pirates said a couple weeks ago that they might only sign 20-25 players from their draft. After seeing who they drafted, that comment makes a lot of sense.
Gonzalez and 25th rounder Brian Leach are the only guys I could find in the top half of the draft who look like typical Littlefield picks. Since there are only a couple, I'm inclined to give Neal Huntington and co. the benefit of the doubt, since it is possible they just see something that others don't. So far, this looks like a very, very good draft, although keep in mind that Littlefield is my frame of reference.
There are a lot of college players in this draft, especially in the early rounds, but there are some very interesting low-risk gambles on high schoolers with upside in the later rounds. There are also lots of shortstops, into which people shouldn't read much -- not all of them will stick at that position, and it's hard to get too much middle infield talent.
Anyway, so far this draft gets two big thumbs up from me.
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A few other things that got missed:
We picked two seniors back-to-back out of West Point at 40/41. The latter of the two actually looks like a pretty decent prospect – he was conference player of the year in 2007. Be interesting to see whether we can get Army waivers for either or both (they’ll sometimes move a guy from active duty to recruiting if he makes a pro roster).
We also drafted a guy from no school at all. I still can’t figure out what’s going on there, whether he dropped out or something like that.
One of our tough signs is from Hickory, NC (the Duke recruit around pick 16 – I forget his name), which might give us an edge in signing him. He could stay with his own parents when he isn’t on road trips.
While looking guys up, I lost track of all the guys who were tagged as smart guys/good students. Could be coincidence, could be a point of emphasis when scouting; hard to say without more years’ worth of data.
by Vlad on Jun 6, 2008 10:24 PM EDT 0 recs
BTW, the Hickory guy is Brian Litwin, 24th round. I can’t find anything about Albert Fagan, who’s the guy from no school.
...There were also at least three players with MLB bloodlines (Palmeiro, Beau Didier, and one of the guys in the teens). Not sure if that might be a trend, also.
by Charlie on
Jun 6, 2008 10:33 PM EDT
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Calvin Anderson...
...had a father who played in the NFL. That might be what you were thinking of.
by Vlad on
Jun 6, 2008 10:38 PM EDT
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The only info I could find of A.J Fagan
http://www.d3baseball.com/notables/page/31
He’s a pitcher/OF for Manhattanville College
Keep an eye on 44th round pick Mike Williams a tall LHP who was a part a team that very recently won the NCAA Division 2 baseball championship.
by Bad Andy on
Jun 6, 2008 10:42 PM EDT
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For what it's worth
Keith Law (per his ESPN chat) doesn’t like Grossman and believes the Pirates took Schneppers way too high.
by woobie on Jun 6, 2008 11:54 PM EDT 0 recs
Weird—Law was the one who reported Seattle’s doctors said Schneppers was healthy!
by Charlie on
Jun 7, 2008 12:02 AM EDT
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Maybe he thinks they're dumb.
“If THEY like him, then it must be a bad idea!”
by Vlad on
Jun 7, 2008 10:27 AM EDT
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I'm beginning to think
Law has a vendetta against the Pirates…....what does he know he’s just another hack.
by Bad Andy on
Jun 7, 2008 11:58 AM EDT
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I wouldn't go that far...
... he’s kind of reflexively “the Pirates are dumb,” but he’s not reflexively “who are the Pirates.” Tom Verducci knows who Glavine and Smoltz played golf with today, but I doubt he knows what the name of the baseball franchise in Pittsburgh is. I don’t like either attitude, but Law at least treats them like they’re one of 30 major league franchises, not just a punchline while waiting to find out if Alex Rodriguez is talking to Derek Jeter about Johnny Damon’s criticism of Joe Girardi for not being Joe Torre and starting Joba Chamberlain.
KLaw manages to work in a Pirates question to just about every chat. He was very cautious in his responses to questions about our new management team, which is unusual—maybe he isn’t too keen on them and doesn’t want to say so out of professional courtesy? Maybe he doesn’t have a strong opinion because none of them have track records, except the Nuttings, whose track record is dismal, whatever the future holds. So holding the Pirates to a standard where they must prove their actions are effective… not unforgivable, you know?
by KPatrick on
Jun 7, 2008 5:17 PM EDT
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A few more solid picks
- David Rubenstein CF 6’2 190 Appy State (good BB/SO numbers, seems to have some tools)
- Austin Wright LHP 6’3 220 from an Illinois HS (From a google search: No. 57 prospect on Baseball America’s 2008 Top 100 College Prospects; he is also ranked as the 37th-best prospect in the nation by Perfect Game)
- Kevin Komstaduis 1B from WA St. HS (Don’t know much about him; his hometown paper ranked him a top player in the area, ahead of 18th pick SS Jarek Cunningham … Has a pretty nice lefty swing)
- And, oh yeah, Raffy’s kid just LOOKS impressive, really athletic with a nice swing. He’s probably on something, though.
by woobie on Jun 7, 2008 12:09 AM EDT 0 recs
Neal: We knew Scheppers was hurt
Like the risk, but the upside doesn’t look as likely now (per Post-Gazette):
Most reports have described it as a stress fracture, but it actually is slight damage to the labrum. The Pirates, aware of the damage beforehand, have the following plan: Monitor it closely leading up to the Aug. 15 signing deadline for all draft picks, make a judgment on its progress, then decide how to proceed.
If the Pirates do not sign Scheppers, they will receive a compensation second-round pick - probably the third choice - next year, so the risk is somewhat negated.
by woobie on Jun 7, 2008 1:15 AM EDT 0 recs
I'm not sure if he'll sign
But 47th round picks like Jordan Craft don’t, er, grow on trees.
Here’s blurb from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
A well-rounded two-sport athlete for the Mustangs (baseball and football), Craft is perhaps the area’s top athlete in the draft. Already signed by Kennesaw State, Craft is projected as an early fourth-round pick in a mock draft on MLBDraftSite.com. Rivals.com has him listed as the 10th-best prospect in Georgia and in the top 100 in the nation.
10th best in GA? I haven’t a clue how he fell through the cracks.
by woobie on Jun 7, 2008 2:11 AM EDT 0 recs
His to be signability issues
like every other HS player the Bucs drafted
It’s gonna be an interesting 2 months that we need to pay heavy attention to.
by Bad Andy on
Jun 7, 2008 12:00 PM EDT
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High school pick updates
- 15th round LHP Chris Aure from Alaska intends to sign.
http://www.newsminer.com/news/2008/jun/07/aure-picked-pittsburgh/
- 16th round OF Wes Freeman from Florida - he’s from the same county as Andrew McCutchen and Steve Pearce - expected to go significantly higher, but it sounds like there’s a good chance he’ll sign.
http://www.theledger.com/article/20080607/NEWS/806070460
- 20th round RHP Quinton MIller from New Jersey, a North Carolina recruit, wanted first/second round money and probably won’t strike a deal with the Bucs.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008806070376
by woobie on Jun 7, 2008 11:30 AM EDT 0 recs
I`d rather the Pirates use a 20th round pick
on someone who might really be something for them if he signs like Quinton Miller, instead of wasting a 20th round pick on a coaches` son like they did last year with Brian Tracy.
by patthatt on
Jun 7, 2008 9:31 PM EDT
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Here's some more draft pick updates
Potential good and bad news to us for those two:
13th pick – Seth Gardner according to Arkansas’s head baseball coach
Dallas Highland Park High School outfielder Seth Gardner, taken in the 13 th round (No. 384 ) by the Pittsburgh Pirates, plans to honor his commitment to Arkansas,
23RD pick – Austin Wright fellow Razorback commit
Chicago left-handed pitcher Austin Wright, also taken by the Pirates in the 23 rd round (No. 684 ), is more likely to turn pro.
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Sports/227944/
Interesting tidbit on Grossman according to the Houston Chronicle
The local product has signed a Letter of Intent with the Longhorns, in case he doesn’t get the money he wants from the Bucs. Rivals reports him having just a 2.75 GPA, so it’s possible that he’ll go pro to avoid having to worry about staying elligible for three years at UT-Austin.
Justin Wilson is ready to be a Bucco according to the Fresno Bee
Wilson is hoping Fresno State can prolong his season. It might be his last with the Bulldogs. He said he expects to sign with the Pirates.
“I’m ready to go,” he said. “For sure, I want to play pro ball.”
Wilson has some bargaining power with one year left at Fresno State. He could command as much as $100,000 to $200,000 for a signing bonus—the range players in his position got last year
8th pick – Jeremy Farrell seems thrilled to be a Bucco according to the Charlottesville Daily-Progress
"We will likely begin negotiations Monday morning," Farrell said. "I feel like I am ready to go out into pro baseball and I want to start my career, so we will see how it goes.
"The Pirates have expressed an interest and that is obvious because they picked me. We will talk in the next couple of days and we will see what we can figure out."
More info about 29th pick Kevin Komstadius with a SOLID indication he was very disappointed in the draft.
The Komstadius family is looking for a signing bonus of $200,000. But, the Pirates haven’t responded yet.
One thing is for sure, baseball is a passion for Kevin Komstadius. He says, “Baseball is what I’ve wanted to do my whole life. People get paid to play baseball, that’s what I want to do.”
He says, “Things didn’t turn out the way I thought they would.”
Komstadius says he thought he was going to be drafted in day one, in rounds 1 through 10
by Bad Andy on Jun 7, 2008 12:45 PM EDT 0 recs
Something tells me ...
... Mr. Komstadius isn’t well informed.
by woobie on Jun 7, 2008 2:23 PM EDT 0 recs
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