Anybody with little knowledge of baseball could have/would have drafted Skenes. The last 2 drafts have made me really question the development and decision making strategy of the BC regime. Seems like they are trying way too hard to outsmart other teams with these “diamond in the rough” picks.
So you're looking for guys with 90s velocity who've pitched a bit with a little bit of guidance and have SOMETHING to recommend them, no matter how much of a reach. Given a chance and a dollop of quality instruction, you're looking for something to click.
I love the Tyler Kennedy line: three innings, five hits, nine walks, seven strike-outs.
Makes the Paul Skenses of the world stand out as the freaks they are.
Next year we will start to get a sense of whether anyone in the Pirates minor-league system knows what they are doing with these pitchers. It is too early to say anything about this year's draft guys. They came into the system as the guys they were in college and pitched like the guys they were in college. They all had bad numbers in college and they are all "statcast" players with nice velocity/spin rate numbers but bad topline numbers. Next year we will start to see what the Pirates can do with what they believe to be raw talent without proper coaching in college. Can the Pirates do better with these guys than their college coaches? I don't know, but they seem to be having some success with minor-league pitching prospects and development (as opposed to the hitters where there is none). It is best to wait a year. The verdict is still out on whether or not this development staff can develop MLB pitchers. I would say, at this point, the verdict is in on their hitting staff. They cannot prepare hitters to be MLB-caliber players. The pitching... I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet.
...KENNEDY.
Anybody with little knowledge of baseball could have/would have drafted Skenes. The last 2 drafts have made me really question the development and decision making strategy of the BC regime. Seems like they are trying way too hard to outsmart other teams with these “diamond in the rough” picks.
So you're looking for guys with 90s velocity who've pitched a bit with a little bit of guidance and have SOMETHING to recommend them, no matter how much of a reach. Given a chance and a dollop of quality instruction, you're looking for something to click.
I love the Tyler Kennedy line: three innings, five hits, nine walks, seven strike-outs.
Makes the Paul Skenses of the world stand out as the freaks they are.
-Wabbit
Great pics here WTM! And also a great writeup! Though I do wish that there was more positive aspects to write about!
So do I.
Next year we will start to get a sense of whether anyone in the Pirates minor-league system knows what they are doing with these pitchers. It is too early to say anything about this year's draft guys. They came into the system as the guys they were in college and pitched like the guys they were in college. They all had bad numbers in college and they are all "statcast" players with nice velocity/spin rate numbers but bad topline numbers. Next year we will start to see what the Pirates can do with what they believe to be raw talent without proper coaching in college. Can the Pirates do better with these guys than their college coaches? I don't know, but they seem to be having some success with minor-league pitching prospects and development (as opposed to the hitters where there is none). It is best to wait a year. The verdict is still out on whether or not this development staff can develop MLB pitchers. I would say, at this point, the verdict is in on their hitting staff. They cannot prepare hitters to be MLB-caliber players. The pitching... I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet.