Not as fast as Schanuel but Kurtz has the potential to arrive early in 25. Schanuel has extremely good eyes, which leads to good zone recognition, pitch recognition and the ability to make contact within the zone.
Kurtz has a higher ceiling but Schanuel's floor is higher than most prospects ceiling.
It's as good as any other rumor I've heard about the Pirates. Change the owner and the Manager - want to keep the GM? That'll be fine if he quits trying to manage from the front office. Maybe a vastly experienced former MLB Manager as an Assistant GM directly overseeing the manager could be a step in the right direction - you know, like a wartime consigliere.
To be honest, I don’t think that he has a shred of interest. He said a couple of years ago that he was glad that his attempts at buying Major League them failed. He said that the financial model was horrible and not worth the investment.
"I'm not interested" is just another way to begin negotiations with an owner willing to sell. He did not get to where he is today by being a poor negotiator! Frankly, Nutting would have to be nuts to sell!
I'm on the Braden Montgomery train as of now. It'd probably take either a less than expectations season, or other players meeting/exceeding expectations, but I'm all for Vance Honeycutt as well.
Only scouting the stat line here, but I’m a bit iffy on guys who have questionable approaches. No Jac for me, and Honeycutt sounds like he’s got a lot of swing and miss.
He cut the K rate, but it’s still on the high side compared to the other college bats. Also, and I know it’s batting average, how does he only hit .250? Hitting .300 almost feels like table stakes for a top 10 college bat.
He’s got a lot more leeway than other guys because he sounds like the real deal defensively. But the questions seem legit.
Did BA have Brecht ahead of Burns for college arms? I couldn’t access their top 10.
Thanks. I must have gotten the rankings wrong, or they changed them from the podcast. Both guys seem like they have awesome stuff. It’ll be interesting to see what Wake does with Burns.
Montgomery is probably my third favorite but most realistic depending on where we pick. If Honeycutt hits better he could jump to the top, Condon could as well.
Kurtz, JJ, Montgomery, Condon, Jac, Honeycutt, White, ..... like you said anywhere in the top 10 is really good, it might extend to the top 20.
There's about 5 or 6 pretty good pitchers that could jump up.
I really like him a lot, he might be the first outfielder off the board. I haven't watched him in a live game only highlights (not the best quality at that). He has a good looking swing and looks to be an above average CF.
I had the TJS mixed with the other transfer from Ucla, Hurd had a stress fracture in his back that limited his starts at Ucla.(had to look it up) The game might have been against Miss St. I think the game went into extra innings. (It was Georgia, had to look it up lol)
If he pitches like he did in the ncaa championship game, definitely top 15 if not top 10. I saw him pitch 3 or 4 other times last year, his stamina wasn't as good and the consistent 98 mph fastball only showed up here and there with less control. I think it was Georgia that he looked really good for 4 or 5 innings near the end of the season.
Definitely like him and he was coming back from Tommy John (I think). LSU had so many transfers and TJS I sometimes get them mixed up.
I drafted him about 15th twice, and he was a mainstay in my rotation on both of my OOTB playthroughs last year, so I have a soft spot for him. Sirota too, because I traded for him in my last game, and he was excellent in CF until he broke his leg in his first arb. year and his fielding went south. The bat didn't hold up at the corners or 1B, so he washed out, but I loved the guy for 3 years.
OOTB Hurd has 4 pretty good pitches, nothing extraordinary, with satisfactory control and good stuff. In my first game, his control improved a little and his movement hit its potential, which was enough to keep BBs and HRs at an acceptable level at PNC. He was the 3rd or 4th man in my rotation, and pretty solid.
In the second game, however, his movement and control jumped up in the minors, his slider moved up to a 65ish grade pitch and his curve to a 60. He became a K machine, despite his velocity never going above mid 93-94, and he alternated between ace and #2. That seems right to me... that his control and movement on his secondary stuff will have to improve for him to be more than a 3 or 4 and that he is unlikely to keep his velocity in the high 90s.
I actually like this draft better for the first 3 rounds outside of having a top 6 pick. There doesn't seem to be as much of a drop after the first couple picks. The college bats and arms are much deeper through the first 80 picks (not nearly as deep on the next tier down as far as bats go).
I hope we either get lucky and get a top 2 pick (Kurtz or JJ) or stay outside the top 6 and have a chance in the lottery next year.
Certainly seems like it’s not a good prep year at all. I’ve been listening to BA’s Friday podcast on the draft and I think they’re like 25-30 deep and it’s been maybe half a dozen prep guys. And only one in the top 10.
Ethan Anderson might jump to a top 15 pick if he shows he can stick at catcher. He's way more athletic than his profile of a first basemen maybe catcher. I'd grab him in the comp 1st round because he can play anywhere other than short or centerfield. His bat also has a lot of potential from both sides.
Burke has a decent hit tool with a ton of power, he's pretty much a 1st and DH.
Ryan Campos is decent fielding catcher that can flat out hit. He doesn't have much power but made solid line drives all over the field when I saw him hit. If he adds power (he looks small), he'll climb up draft boards.
Me too, but until we have more than 1 established pitcher for the rotation, we have a better shot at having one of the 3 worst records than finishing in the playoffs. I think if we get a top 6 pick, then we would be like the Nats this year stuck around pick 10.
If we're bad, I'd like a shot at the next Holiday kid.
JJ is one of my top 2, I think he has the best pure hit tool in the draft and pretty good pop. Kurtz is my top choice because I know he can play 1st and I think he could play a corner outfield fine. He went to Wake as pitcher so his arm should be fine. He has power with a great hit tool and plate discipline.
Let's hope for some more lottery luck as even if there is not a signature #1 pick, the extra $'s always help!
One draft narrative(comment appropriate for this thread) I see on MLB TradeRumors some times and probably here and Tim's site in the past is that the Pirates go 'cheap' in the first round for picks later on. Under BC's 4 drafts only once has he really not drafted what may be the top person on the board when he took his 1st round draft pick and that was Hank. Skenes vs. Crews was really a toss-up. Termarr was 3 at least on a lot of boards and with Rangers taking Kumar he slid to the Bucs. Nick was one of a group of 'top 6' - usually in the 4-6 grouping leading up to his draft. Only time will tell what were good vs bad picks but I see Hank as the outlier not a trend setter on BC's draft habits.
Something to remember - with Bubba, Solo and White, the Hank draft still holds the most potential for the Bucs. Not ready yet to dump on them for “going cheap” there.
I totally agree with you. And we will never know for sure if Hank may have been first on their board or one of 2 or 3 they thought could be top of the board. I've just read several times implying Pirates go under-slot as a practice. I think in many times it is flashing way back to Moskos and Sanchez and even with Sanchez there was a strategy (did not work out) regarding the pick.
Find us a rapid riser 1B prospect please. Someone who could come up almost as quickly as Schanuel.
Not as fast as Schanuel but Kurtz has the potential to arrive early in 25. Schanuel has extremely good eyes, which leads to good zone recognition, pitch recognition and the ability to make contact within the zone.
Kurtz has a higher ceiling but Schanuel's floor is higher than most prospects ceiling.
LH hitter?
Yep, I thought he was a top 5 college bat last year if he would have been draft eligible. My top college bats were
1, Schanuel
2, Langford
3, Crews
4, Kurtz
5, Wetherholt
That wasn't my top 5 overall, but top 5 college hitters.
Sign me up
Kurtz plate discipline, power and pure hitting ability is impressive.
Sounds unlikely to last to 6-10
Luis Severino off the board.
Tommy Tanks or GTFO
Im so ready for this
Ha!
I approve this message 😁
Anyone here jump on the “Cuban is selling his control of the Mavs so he can buy the Bucs” train yet?
He'd be more likely to try and "save us" from Trump by running for POTUS to spare Biden the embarrassment than try and buy the Pirates
It's as good as any other rumor I've heard about the Pirates. Change the owner and the Manager - want to keep the GM? That'll be fine if he quits trying to manage from the front office. Maybe a vastly experienced former MLB Manager as an Assistant GM directly overseeing the manager could be a step in the right direction - you know, like a wartime consigliere.
To be honest, I don’t think that he has a shred of interest. He said a couple of years ago that he was glad that his attempts at buying Major League them failed. He said that the financial model was horrible and not worth the investment.
"I'm not interested" is just another way to begin negotiations with an owner willing to sell. He did not get to where he is today by being a poor negotiator! Frankly, Nutting would have to be nuts to sell!
No clue about any of these prospects yet. Just hope it is a solid draft.
OTTOH, it's 3%, not 3.9%.
Also, everyone remember, if the Pirates pick in the lottery in 2024, they can pick no higher than 10th in 2025.
Is the lottery just considered the top 6 picks? I'm not sure.
Correct
MLB Tankathon lied to me!
Yeah, looks like they don't have the Nationals where they are supposed to be--or their odds allocated--meaning everyone is shifted up a spot.
The Pirates were 9th in the league, but now have the 8th best odds
Yeah, it's 2.7%, but 3% after the Nationals share
I wonder how the drafting strategy will change with the new scouting director....if it changes at all!
I'm on the Braden Montgomery train as of now. It'd probably take either a less than expectations season, or other players meeting/exceeding expectations, but I'm all for Vance Honeycutt as well.
I was going to comment here before anyone else and mention you basically got me on the Montgomery hype train lol
Good. Good.
Muwahahaha
Only scouting the stat line here, but I’m a bit iffy on guys who have questionable approaches. No Jac for me, and Honeycutt sounds like he’s got a lot of swing and miss.
Cut his K% by near 10% from freshman to sophomore year. Problem is if he has too good of a year, he's probably Top 3-5
He cut the K rate, but it’s still on the high side compared to the other college bats. Also, and I know it’s batting average, how does he only hit .250? Hitting .300 almost feels like table stakes for a top 10 college bat.
He’s got a lot more leeway than other guys because he sounds like the real deal defensively. But the questions seem legit.
Did BA have Brecht ahead of Burns for college arms? I couldn’t access their top 10.
Burns top arm at #7, and Brecht is #15
If Brecht shows good control/command he could very well jump to the top of the class. Same with Hagen Smith
Thanks. I must have gotten the rankings wrong, or they changed them from the podcast. Both guys seem like they have awesome stuff. It’ll be interesting to see what Wake does with Burns.
Wake has 4 in the Top 16 lol
Kurtz, King, Burns, and Hartle
Montgomery is probably my third favorite but most realistic depending on where we pick. If Honeycutt hits better he could jump to the top, Condon could as well.
Kurtz, JJ, Montgomery, Condon, Jac, Honeycutt, White, ..... like you said anywhere in the top 10 is really good, it might extend to the top 20.
There's about 5 or 6 pretty good pitchers that could jump up.
Also Mike Sirota?
I really like him a lot, he might be the first outfielder off the board. I haven't watched him in a live game only highlights (not the best quality at that). He has a good looking swing and looks to be an above average CF.
What is your opinion of Thatcher Hurd?
I had the TJS mixed with the other transfer from Ucla, Hurd had a stress fracture in his back that limited his starts at Ucla.(had to look it up) The game might have been against Miss St. I think the game went into extra innings. (It was Georgia, had to look it up lol)
If he pitches like he did in the ncaa championship game, definitely top 15 if not top 10. I saw him pitch 3 or 4 other times last year, his stamina wasn't as good and the consistent 98 mph fastball only showed up here and there with less control. I think it was Georgia that he looked really good for 4 or 5 innings near the end of the season.
Definitely like him and he was coming back from Tommy John (I think). LSU had so many transfers and TJS I sometimes get them mixed up.
I drafted him about 15th twice, and he was a mainstay in my rotation on both of my OOTB playthroughs last year, so I have a soft spot for him. Sirota too, because I traded for him in my last game, and he was excellent in CF until he broke his leg in his first arb. year and his fielding went south. The bat didn't hold up at the corners or 1B, so he washed out, but I loved the guy for 3 years.
I like both of them, would love it if they slid or in Hurd's case become more consistent. They both could end up in the top 10.
OOTB Hurd has 4 pretty good pitches, nothing extraordinary, with satisfactory control and good stuff. In my first game, his control improved a little and his movement hit its potential, which was enough to keep BBs and HRs at an acceptable level at PNC. He was the 3rd or 4th man in my rotation, and pretty solid.
In the second game, however, his movement and control jumped up in the minors, his slider moved up to a 65ish grade pitch and his curve to a 60. He became a K machine, despite his velocity never going above mid 93-94, and he alternated between ace and #2. That seems right to me... that his control and movement on his secondary stuff will have to improve for him to be more than a 3 or 4 and that he is unlikely to keep his velocity in the high 90s.
I actually like this draft better for the first 3 rounds outside of having a top 6 pick. There doesn't seem to be as much of a drop after the first couple picks. The college bats and arms are much deeper through the first 80 picks (not nearly as deep on the next tier down as far as bats go).
I hope we either get lucky and get a top 2 pick (Kurtz or JJ) or stay outside the top 6 and have a chance in the lottery next year.
Certainly seems like it’s not a good prep year at all. I’ve been listening to BA’s Friday podcast on the draft and I think they’re like 25-30 deep and it’s been maybe half a dozen prep guys. And only one in the top 10.
A few of the prep arms will climb up the lists in the spring. The best bats don't project up the middle except for a couple and they have questions.
If we don't move up in the first round as of now I'd like the pirates picks to be.
Round 1) Montgomery
Comp rd 1) Anderson
Round 2) a prep arm or bat
Round 3) Burke
Round 4) college arm
Round 5) Campos (a catcher at Arizona St.)
You're way ahead of the curve. I only have who'd I'd like with our first pick lol
Ethan Anderson might jump to a top 15 pick if he shows he can stick at catcher. He's way more athletic than his profile of a first basemen maybe catcher. I'd grab him in the comp 1st round because he can play anywhere other than short or centerfield. His bat also has a lot of potential from both sides.
Burke has a decent hit tool with a ton of power, he's pretty much a 1st and DH.
Ryan Campos is decent fielding catcher that can flat out hit. He doesn't have much power but made solid line drives all over the field when I saw him hit. If he adds power (he looks small), he'll climb up draft boards.
Prep arms seem to drop more often due to a price tag, don’t they? Maybe they’ll climb with velocity spikes though.
Yep, several get late first round money throughout the draft. Several jump up lists because new found velocity or other measurements.
I'm content with anything inside the top 10
Me too, but until we have more than 1 established pitcher for the rotation, we have a better shot at having one of the 3 worst records than finishing in the playoffs. I think if we get a top 6 pick, then we would be like the Nats this year stuck around pick 10.
If we're bad, I'd like a shot at the next Holiday kid.
Ok, ok. So, lets settle on 7th
maybe we can draft a hitter with a weak nancy arm so there are no gripes about moving him to first base one day
need outfielders
This is when I sit back and wait for Melkel to tell me who I want them to take.
In the comp round 1, Ethan Anderson
Round 2 or 3 Blake Burke
Round 1 if we are lucky Kurtz, if we are after pick 6 Montgomery but several others I'd be happy with.
We need more power.
Fine with either of those picks in the first. Do you like either of the 2B at all? Or not as much cause they seem more hit than power?
JJ is one of my top 2, I think he has the best pure hit tool in the draft and pretty good pop. Kurtz is my top choice because I know he can play 1st and I think he could play a corner outfield fine. He went to Wake as pitcher so his arm should be fine. He has power with a great hit tool and plate discipline.
Mel is a big fan of Nick Kurtz. I want the Bucs to draft him so his reaction is “the horror! The horror!”
Let's hope for some more lottery luck as even if there is not a signature #1 pick, the extra $'s always help!
One draft narrative(comment appropriate for this thread) I see on MLB TradeRumors some times and probably here and Tim's site in the past is that the Pirates go 'cheap' in the first round for picks later on. Under BC's 4 drafts only once has he really not drafted what may be the top person on the board when he took his 1st round draft pick and that was Hank. Skenes vs. Crews was really a toss-up. Termarr was 3 at least on a lot of boards and with Rangers taking Kumar he slid to the Bucs. Nick was one of a group of 'top 6' - usually in the 4-6 grouping leading up to his draft. Only time will tell what were good vs bad picks but I see Hank as the outlier not a trend setter on BC's draft habits.
Something to remember - with Bubba, Solo and White, the Hank draft still holds the most potential for the Bucs. Not ready yet to dump on them for “going cheap” there.
I totally agree with you. And we will never know for sure if Hank may have been first on their board or one of 2 or 3 they thought could be top of the board. I've just read several times implying Pirates go under-slot as a practice. I think in many times it is flashing way back to Moskos and Sanchez and even with Sanchez there was a strategy (did not work out) regarding the pick.
Davis may or may not work out, but he isn’t Moskos or Sanchez. There’s failed plans, and then there’s total dumb-assery.