The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed minor league pitcher Kenn Kasparek out of the Independent leagues, and have assigned him to the Bradenton Marauders. The addition comes after a series of moves today that sent Porfirio Lopez from West Virginia to Bradenton and Jhonathan Ramos from Bradenton to Altoona.
Kasparek was originally drafted in the 12th round of the 2008 draft by the Seattle Mariners. He came out of college, pitching for the University of Texas. The 6′ 10″, 245 pound right hander last pitched in 2011 in the Southern League at Double-A ball, posting a 4.50 ERA in 62 innings over 12 starts, with a 40:26 K/BB ratio.
Despite the size, Kasparek doesn’t throw with a lot of velocity, throwing in the upper 80s with two decent breaking balls (upper 70s slider, lower 70s curve) and a changeup. He’s got good command, but none of his pitches really stand out, and he’s likely to be used more as organizational depth in the lower levels.
