I went to the WVU/Pitt midweek on Tuesday and Wetherholt didn’t get one ball hit to him at SS b4 he was replaced in the 6th(he got replaced with most of the starters as they were up 11-0 at that point and he already batted 4 times).
He had a couple hits but I came away most impressed with a couple WVU pitchers. Van Kenpen, who was a big name in the Prep world and a big recruit back in 2022 was sharp. Freshman, Chase Meyer, another big recruit, also looked good in the single inning he pitched.
I wish I would’ve seen more from Wetherholt in the field.
My bad, for some reason I read Griffin is getting pitched around. Which he is too.
But ya, Kurtz gets nothing to hit even with King behind him.
I’m a big Marek Houston fan too. I think he’s a for sure 1st round pick in ‘25 and probably a top 25 player for me in ‘25 right now. He’s the best defensive SS in College Baseball.
And they batting Kurtz b/ween Houston and King and he’s still not getting nothing to hit. Crazy!!
Yep, he's not chasing much anymore, just taking the walks. He's probably going to keep his BA over .300 but his on base will probably end up over .550 with a great slugging total. I think he was pressing a bit early in the year and after he came back from the injury, pitchers challenged him until they realized he would crush anything close the zone. Hopefully he'll get some pitchers to challenge him in tournament play. Crazy the talent around him.
"The Pirates are stacked with pitching prospects, but passing on arguably the best pitcher in the draft would be hard."
It wouldn't be too hard to pass on the best pitcher on the draft if a position player with s credible bat is available. As we've seem recrntly, scoring 0-3 runs per game dies not yield many wins. Apart from that, it's possible that the #10 position player is a better choice based on skill than the #1 pitcher.
It is usually a poor idea to take a lesser player than a better one. No matter the position. If Burns is there and they have him a full grade higher than any other player, you take him.
Unless there is a stud college pitcher available (There never would be one there in the #9 spot) there is no pick that will help much sooner. I for one would go for the best talant at that position, position be damned.
How to evaluate major league level talent is the main problem though isn’t it? There’s no way anyone can do it reliably. There are way too many examples to consider but just one would be the 2016 draft. No player drafted in the first 30 has made an all-star game but Bryan Reynolds was drafted #59 and Pete Alonzo #64.
The draft is not a science nor even an art and all of the analytics in the world are of little use. One of the reasons quantity might be more important than draft position much of the time. Take as many players with potential as possible and hope.
Yeah, basically my point. Ignoring a kid because he is 18 and won’t be ready for a few years longer as a result will keep you from potentially getting a gem. If the Pirates used the logic that it will take ~4 years till the player would be ready in 2020, we would have missed out on Jared Jones. You are right about the draft being a crap shoot. All teams can do is guess as to who has enough talent make it and the wait to see what happens.
It's a best available position at pick 9. I prefer one of the top 6 college hitters, then 1 of the top 2 college pitchers (maybe 3, Yesavage is growing on me). If they're gone either one of the prep bats (I currently like Rainer a little better). If they're set on a college player, I like Yesavage, hitter still not sure but leaning towards Tibbs.
Mel, not sure if you listen to BA podcasts. But Friday, they did a “data darling” podcast after they dropped their draft 400. In it, they looked at mostly guys who had really good metrics, but were mostly 3rd round types and below. They picked five college bats and five arms. Burke was one, as was Zack Stewart (Missouri St OF) Jon Jon Gazdar (Austin Peay OF). I can’t remember some of the others, one was a bat from Lehigh.
Anyway, thought you may want to check it out. More of a fun deep dive.
Just listened to part of it, the beginning and end missed the middle. Really like the little bit I've seen of Stewart. The last one was Trimble from Jmu, he's someone I like a lot.
I went to the WVU/Pitt midweek on Tuesday and Wetherholt didn’t get one ball hit to him at SS b4 he was replaced in the 6th(he got replaced with most of the starters as they were up 11-0 at that point and he already batted 4 times).
He had a couple hits but I came away most impressed with a couple WVU pitchers. Van Kenpen, who was a big name in the Prep world and a big recruit back in 2022 was sharp. Freshman, Chase Meyer, another big recruit, also looked good in the single inning he pitched.
I wish I would’ve seen more from Wetherholt in the field.
Kurtz is totally getting pitched around again. He's 0 for 1 in his last 2 games with 9 walks and 1 hit by pitch.
With 150 SB
My bad, for some reason I read Griffin is getting pitched around. Which he is too.
But ya, Kurtz gets nothing to hit even with King behind him.
I’m a big Marek Houston fan too. I think he’s a for sure 1st round pick in ‘25 and probably a top 25 player for me in ‘25 right now. He’s the best defensive SS in College Baseball.
And they batting Kurtz b/ween Houston and King and he’s still not getting nothing to hit. Crazy!!
Yep, he's not chasing much anymore, just taking the walks. He's probably going to keep his BA over .300 but his on base will probably end up over .550 with a great slugging total. I think he was pressing a bit early in the year and after he came back from the injury, pitchers challenged him until they realized he would crush anything close the zone. Hopefully he'll get some pitchers to challenge him in tournament play. Crazy the talent around him.
What the potential picks are saying - "please not the Pirates or the Rockies! Please not the most inept organizations!"
"The Pirates are stacked with pitching prospects, but passing on arguably the best pitcher in the draft would be hard."
It wouldn't be too hard to pass on the best pitcher on the draft if a position player with s credible bat is available. As we've seem recrntly, scoring 0-3 runs per game dies not yield many wins. Apart from that, it's possible that the #10 position player is a better choice based on skill than the #1 pitcher.
It is usually a poor idea to take a lesser player than a better one. No matter the position. If Burns is there and they have him a full grade higher than any other player, you take him.
Good idea pick an 18yr old that way he will be ready 2028 if lucky...
Unless there is a stud college pitcher available (There never would be one there in the #9 spot) there is no pick that will help much sooner. I for one would go for the best talant at that position, position be damned.
How to evaluate major league level talent is the main problem though isn’t it? There’s no way anyone can do it reliably. There are way too many examples to consider but just one would be the 2016 draft. No player drafted in the first 30 has made an all-star game but Bryan Reynolds was drafted #59 and Pete Alonzo #64.
The draft is not a science nor even an art and all of the analytics in the world are of little use. One of the reasons quantity might be more important than draft position much of the time. Take as many players with potential as possible and hope.
Yeah, basically my point. Ignoring a kid because he is 18 and won’t be ready for a few years longer as a result will keep you from potentially getting a gem. If the Pirates used the logic that it will take ~4 years till the player would be ready in 2020, we would have missed out on Jared Jones. You are right about the draft being a crap shoot. All teams can do is guess as to who has enough talent make it and the wait to see what happens.
With one of the mocks (obligatory: they’re useless this far out comment) it had them passing on Burns to take the prep SS. I wouldn’t want that.
It's a best available position at pick 9. I prefer one of the top 6 college hitters, then 1 of the top 2 college pitchers (maybe 3, Yesavage is growing on me). If they're gone either one of the prep bats (I currently like Rainer a little better). If they're set on a college player, I like Yesavage, hitter still not sure but leaning towards Tibbs.
Mel, not sure if you listen to BA podcasts. But Friday, they did a “data darling” podcast after they dropped their draft 400. In it, they looked at mostly guys who had really good metrics, but were mostly 3rd round types and below. They picked five college bats and five arms. Burke was one, as was Zack Stewart (Missouri St OF) Jon Jon Gazdar (Austin Peay OF). I can’t remember some of the others, one was a bat from Lehigh.
Anyway, thought you may want to check it out. More of a fun deep dive.
Just listened to part of it, the beginning and end missed the middle. Really like the little bit I've seen of Stewart. The last one was Trimble from Jmu, he's someone I like a lot.
Thanks, I still like Burke but some other guy's are moving ahead of him. I'm still worried about the lack of a position but I do think he can hit.
Can't believe we still have 2+ months to go. Ugh
I know right. I usually don't start digging to far in until about right now, so feels like this is taking even longer than usual.
I start putting more eyes on it when regionals start. Cause those games I can have on a screen while I'm working lol
My priority is game over work at this point in my life 😁😁
Well, I can't tell my boss that! lol
Coach Klein says What the boss don’t know……😁😁