When discussing the best Pittsburgh Pirates draft under Neal Huntington, the 2011 group has to be at the top of the list. It features Gerrit Cole, Tyler Glasnow, Josh Bell, Clay Holmes, and a few other players who have a shot at reaching the majors.
If there is one draft that could challenge that group, it’s the 2013 class. The Pirates took top prospects Austin Meadows and Reese McGuire in the first round that year. They also landed some interesting guys like JaCoby Jones, Cody Dickson, and Chad Kuhl, who will either be in Bradenton or Altoona this season. One other guy who could help boost the overall group is right-handed pitcher Billy Roth.
The Pirates took Roth in the 16th round, and signed him away from a commitment to Arizona with a $190,000 bonus. It’s a common story from the last few years: Prep pitcher drops due to signability concerns, Pirates draft said pitcher and give him an over-slot bonus to sign, and he joins the many other tall projectable pitchers in the system.
Roth looked special at the time of the draft. Baseball America called him the best late round pick for the Pirates, and one of the best late round picks in the draft in their reviews that year. He was 6′ 3″, 184 pounds, and could already hit 92 MPH with his fastball.
He showed some potential when I saw him in the GCL in 2013, working in the 90-92 MPH range early in his starts, and dropping down to the upper 80s after the second inning. Last year he made the jump to Bristol, and saw an improvement in his strikeouts, but that came with some serious control problems. He walked 33 batters in 45 innings, throwing a speed bump on his development track.
I saw Roth again on Tuesday, and he looked the best that I’ve seen him in the last three years. I only saw about two of his innings, but his control looked much better than last year. The biggest part was that he was working 91-94 MPH, hitting the 94 mark four different times.
“I put on a big of weight this year,” Roth said after his start. “In previous years I’ve seen myself up to 95, but I think gaining weight will help me be more consistent in my velocity.”
Roth worked in the off-season with the Pirates’ strength staff, trying to put on ten pounds. He’s currently weighing 201 pounds, which is 17 pounds heavier than where he was on draft day. That’s not uncommon, as part of the plan for the Pirates when they draft projectable pitchers is to add strength, and hope the added strength results in added velocity.
The added velocity is great, but Roth is going to need better control in order to get back on track this year. He showed that on Tuesday, but consistency will be the key.
“Sometimes I just don’t get to my backside,” Roth said of his control problems. “I just come out too quick. A lot of times I’ll end up spiking a pitch or two. I’ve been really focusing on getting to my backside.”
A big issue with Roth is that his leg kick needs to be more consistent. He calls it a “knee to nipple” approach, where the focus is literally trying to bring his knee up to his nipple. This helps him stay on his backside more, so he’s not rushing through his delivery and opening up too soon.
“It really helps being balanced on the back leg,” Roth said.
Fastball command is another common focus for the Pirates when developing prep pitchers. The third focus is learning a changeup, since most high school pitchers don’t throw that pitch often before pro ball. Roth said his changeup has come a long way in the last year.
“Last year I was just getting comfortable throwing it,” Roth said. “This year I want to get comfortable locating it. I threw it a lot today, and I think I got three outs with it. It’s come a long way, but it’s still got a long way to go.”
The focus here for Roth is typical for learning a changeup — getting consistency, having the arm speed match the fastball, staying on top of the ball, and getting more separation in velocity from the fastball. On that last part, Roth sat 86-88 MPH last year, and was in that range on Tuesday. The added velocity to his fastball will help, but he’s going to need to find a way to lose some velocity with the changeup in the future.
“I think it could be a good pitch for me, once I get consistent with it,” Roth said.
Roth has a nice 12-to-6 curveball that he can use as a strikeout pitch. However, his focus in the lower levels is primarily going to be on commanding the fastball and improving the changeup. He is currently slated to begin the year in extended Spring Training, and will likely go to Morgantown this summer. He’ll be one of the guys to watch in the lower levels, especially if he can improve his fastball command.
Tuesday Game Notes
**I wrote about the 2014 prep pitchers over the weekend. Two of them pitched yesterday, showing the typical strong velocity. Second round pick Mitch Keller was 91-94 MPH, hitting 95 once. 11th round pick Gage Hinsz was 90-92 MPH, hitting 93 once. For more on each pitcher, check out Sunday’s article.
**I saw JaCoby Jones make a nice diving stop on a hard grounder up the middle. I’ve been impressed with his transition to shortstop, and will definitely be following that a lot this year in Bradenton.
**I watched Josh Bell taking grounders on the back fields, and shot some video.
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.
I really think it makes no sense to move Allie to the outfield. Even if he potentially has more value there, he will NEVER crack our team in the outfield short of him hitting 40 homers in altoona this year. He plays a good defense at first and he only has Josh Bell in front of him……whom as much talent as he has, hasn’t even done as much in the minors as Allie has, in just as much time. I’m not saying I’d put him above Bell, i’m not a moron, but Allie HAS to be plan B at first base in the prospect list……it just doesn’t add up
Y2: He can hit for power, has done fairly well at 1B, strikes out a lot, but, as he has moved up, his W/K Ratio has actually improved. For instance, in 2013 in Lo A and Hi A he hit 21 HR’s with 77 Walks/161 K’s in 480 AB’s; in 2014 at AA he hit 21 HR’s with 71 Walks/127 K’s in 407 AB’s. That type of improvement while moving up in class should not be overlooked.
Bell only saw AA for 20+ games – have they announced where Bell will be assigned to start the season? If it is AAA, then could they just be trying to find a spot where Allie will get max AB’s in AAA?
I hope JaCoby gets to Altoona this season, so I can see him play sometime this Summer. Harrisburg, Reading, Altoona, and Bowie are all very drivable…..
*If* the organization is trying to fix his swing and approach, then I think you have to give him another full year against A-ball pitching. Otherwise, I don’t see much reason not to send him to AA sooner than later and let him try to make it work.
I would agree with you here NMR
R: He is an interesting prospect. Although drafted out of college, he is still only in his age 23 season coming off a 23 HR season at Lo A, and seems to be able to play just about anywhere on the field. He has been a pleasant surprise, but he will have to continue to improve at Hi A by reducing the number of K’s and still be able to hit for average and power. If he can do those things at Hi A against much better pitching, you may get your wish.