The Pittsburgh Pirates have released both Drew and Beau Maggi. Drew was the 15th round draft in 2010, who signed for a $468,000 bonus. His younger brother Beau was signed as catching depth early last month.
The move to release Drew Maggi is an interesting one based on how well he performed last year and the bonus the Pirates paid to sign him as a draft-eligible sophomore out of Arizona State. Last year for Altoona, Drew played 110 games for Altoona and put up a .382 OBP, along with 37 stolen bases. He showed strong plate patience and contact skills, posting a 50:58 BB/SO ratio. He also played all four infield positions and both corner outfield spots.
Beau was a 24th round pick of the Royals and played just 70 games over three seasons. He looked like he would be catching depth at any level from AA down, basically wherever they needed him.
We pointed out earlier in the off-season that there was at least 150 players for the 100 roster spots from Indianapolis down to West Virginia(Power). There was bound to be some players released and while Drew Maggi seems like a tough player to let go, there are a lot of AAA-type position players in the organization, so he would have likely returned to Altoona as a super utility player if he stuck around. There are players like Andy Vasquez and Kelson Brown that could also fill that same role. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him latch on to another team soon.
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
say what?
They both signed with the Angels
I just heard from my ASU friends that the Maggi Brothers have already signed with another team. I am trying to find out what happened but I am just hearing rumors, but if I find out I will post it.
So much for the Gift of the Maggi.
I agree that this is a bit strange. I could see cutting the catcher as the organization is fairly loaded at that position, but Drew looked to be worth holding onto. I would think he wouldn’t ask to be released if his brother couldn’t stay as well, especially since Beau just recently joined the system.
Hate to be negative but it sorta sounds like one of them did something wrong. Any news on why it happened?
Sounds like a class move to give the guy a real shot at the bigs
Just out of curiosity, are these two Maggi’s also the brother of Joe Maggi, who plays at The University of Arizona? He probably won’t be a prospect, since he’s barely seen the field the past two years, but since I remember him being a contributor to the UA National Championship team, I just wondered.
I wouldn’t have bothered to ask if Drew didn’t go to ASU, which makes me think Joe being their brother is even more likely.
Yes, one of seven siblings
Ah, wow, seven. Okay then. Thanks!
I thought Drew Maggi would eventually be a usable utility type. It is good to see the organization can cut ties with a guy like this and not miss him. For his sake hopefully he latches onto to place like Philadelphia where he can make the majors.