The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed right handed pitcher Kris Harvey to a minor league deal, according to the latest minor league transactions report by Matt Eddy at Baseball America.
Harvey turned 28 in January, and has pitched as high as the AA level. He spent his entire career with the Florida Marlins, being drafted by the organization in the second round of the 2005 draft.
Harvey has had an interesting career. He started off as a hitter, playing primarily in right field. He spent his first three professional years as a hitter, making it as far as high-A in 2007, which was his third year. At the high-A level he had a .238/.301/.376 line in 420 at-bats.
In 2008 he started his conversion to the mound, or back to the mound if you consider that he pitched while he was with Clemson, even touching 97 MPH during his time in college. He had 209 at-bats at the AA level in 2008, then moved down to the rookie leagues to start his transformation. Harvey made eight appearances between the GCL and the South Atlantic League in 2008, then moved to the mound full time in 2009.
In 2009 Harvey put up a 4.38 ERA in 72 innings at high-A, with a 6.8 K/9 and a 4.2 BB/9 ratio. He moved up to the AA level in 2010, but the results weren’t encouraging, with a 5.40 ERA in 31.2 innings, along with a 25:16 K/BB ratio.
Harvey split time in 2011 between high-A and AA. He started off the year back in high-A for the third year in a row as a pitcher. In 31.2 innings he posted a 2.27 ERA, with an 8.8 K/9 and a 3.4 BB/9 ratio. He struggled in AA again, with a 6.68 ERA in 32.1 innings. His control suffered again, with a 6.4 K/9 and a 4.2 BB/9 ratio.
Harvey is on the old side, but he’s only been pitching as a pro for three years. He can still throw in the mid-90s, touching 96 MPH, although he’s had to slow his fastball down to the 92-93 MPH range to work on his command issues.
Harvey will likely pitch out of the bullpen at the AA level. He’s a good flier to take due to his live arm, but he’s not going to have a shot at the majors until he fixes his command issues and makes the successful jump beyond A-ball.
