Vincent Payne was selected in the 12th round of the 2010 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of the JuCo ranks. He signed quickly, and went to the Gulf Coast League, where he dominated with a 2.43 ERA in 37 innings, along with a 21:9 K/BB ratio. At the end of the season he was moved up to State College, where he pitched 5 innings, with a 1.80 ERA and a 3:2 K/BB ratio. This was all after Payne pitched 19 innings in the JuCo ranks, struggling with a 7.58 ERA, and an 18:22 K/BB ratio, making his success in the lower levels a surprise.
For more about Payne, and all of the prospects in the farm system, check out the Pirates Prospects 2011 Prospect Guide.
Last week I posted a video recap of Tyler Waldron taking on the Auburn Doubledays. Payne came on in the same game, after Waldron left, and pitched three innings for one of his two appearances in State College in 2010. He ended up with three shutout innings, allowing no hits, one walk, one hit batter, and two strikeouts. Below is video from the game, with Payne going up against top Washington Nationals prospects like Carlos Perez and Gustavo Pierre.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
