Monday, August 16, 2010

One franchise changing draft

I think we can say that we know where the Pirates stand now having signed 27 of their 50 draft picks. Let me go ahead and go on record. This is a franchise changing draft. Now, I think the 08 draft was good enough to make us competitive, and 09 has great potential, but mostly it was potential. The 2010 draft is fabulous. Let us take a look for a moment at one of the greatest drafts possibly ever.

First, there is Jameson Taillon. This kid is great. He has high 90 fastball that is thrown for strikes. He has a great curve and slider. Apparently he throws a decent change, but that is one the Pirates are going to work on. The kid is 18 and thus in for some growth in power. He has ace potential. Something the Pirates have not legitimately had in some time.

Second, we have Stetson Allie. Allie was a first round draft pick that was picked in the second round because of signability fears. Allie has similar stuff to Taillon, although not as many polished pitches as Taillon, but throws as hard or harder. Control of his triple digit fastball is an issue, but again the kid is 18. He is a clear cut top of the rotation guy with ace potential. Add to the mix that he can hit. A good hitter with power in his bat. Wow.

Then the Pirates signed picks 3,4,and 5. Mel Rojas Jr., is an Andrew McCutchen type player, who is only 19. He will be a touch slower than Cutch, but has that starting center fielder bat and defense. Waldron is okay, could be a good reliever, but Nick Kingham is a steal in my book. He was in the Top 200 according to most ranking systems, and is a solid middle of the rotation pitcher. He has a low 90’s fastball and the Pirates can work on the rest. Another 18 year old kid that ought to bring good times to the Pirates. In the past pitchers like Kingham have been asked to be the ace, but Kingham is the third best pitcher in this draft for the Pirates. So even if all the other Pirate pitchers from last year fail, Kingham does not have to be anything other than a number 3 starter. That is a no pressure situation for the youngster.

Admittedly the Pirates missed out on some guys in the top 10 of their draft, but they were not the sure things that Allie and Taillon are. The only one really worth missing in Zack Weiss and in the end the Pirates were talking to him all the way up until the deadline. They did sign number 9 pick Brandon Crumpton. He is a college kid, so hopefully he can progress quickly and might be some bullpen help just out of not having a place for him in the starting rotation.

Other than Rojas the Pirates added only a few bats. First base seems to be the place that the Pirates improved the most. The race to see who turns out to be the best first baseman in the group will be interesting. The Pirates signs Matt Curry out of TCU, and he is already doing well in State College. Justin Howard hit .456 with a 1.217 OPS at New Mexico. That is pretty good. And maybe we should add Jared Lakind in here out of High School. He is a lefty pitcher who plays first base and he was drafted higher than Howard. These guys could make a real difference in a traditionally weak place of the Pirates.

Middle infield sees only Drew Maggi as a real prospect. He is a sophomore, and looks good defensively and as a hitter for average. He got a big bonus to fore go more school. He might be a difference maker in the weak middle infield. Adalberto Santos also should be mentioned. He signed quick and is doing great at State College. He is small, but so far so good.

The Pirates got lots of other High School arms that might could develop into something. The Pirates shocked everyone with a big payout to Ryan Hafner (17th round). Late round picks Logan Penvy and Brian Trepagnier signed as well. These guys are high 80 throwers now, could they develop into something that helps out the Pirate system?

Now that is a great draft. In four years fully 3 out of 5 starting pitchers could have come from this draft with some of the bullpen guys being there too. Rojas could be roaming the outfield and firstbase could be occupied by a 2010 draftee. And if these things come true, then the Pirates will look real good. Real good. Add that to the fact that in four years you will still control Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, plus last year’s draft number 1 Sanchez behind the plate, and in all probability next year’s overall number 1 pick too. Let us not forget that Zack Von Rosenburg and Colton Cain are in the system and ought to be the other two pitchers in your starting rotation in four years. Really this ought to bring Pittsburgh a championship.

No one could ask for more than this. No one.

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