The Dominican Winter League held it’s annual draft on Wednesday night and five players from the Pittsburgh Pirates were selected. West Virginia Power second baseman Pablo Reyes was the first one taken, going #13 to Escogido. His teammate Yeudy Garcia was taken 36th by Estrellas. That team has been managed by Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor.
Junior Lopez, who finished the season in Bradenton’s bullpen, was taken with the 47th pick by Aguilas Cibaenas. Another Bradenton reliever will join Reyes on Escogido. Miguel Rosario was take 49th overall. The final pick was Jose Regalado, who was taken 87th overall by Toros del Este.
In the Dominican Winter League, very few players from the lower levels see significant playing time right away, so don’t expect these players to see much time this winter. Two examples would be Gregory Polanco and Alen Hanson, who both had breakout seasons in 2012 with West Virginia. Polanco played 13 games for Escogido that year, while Hanson saw eight games off the bench. Polanco saw more playing time after the 2013 season and won the league MVP award.
