Two pitchers from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization retired this off-season, while the Pirates recently added two right-handed pitchers from the Dominican.
Lefty Thomas Harlan was a 13th round pick from the 2012 draft, who spent the last two seasons with the Altoona Curve. Harlan was a soft-tossing lefty, who put up decent results as a swing-man, filling in as a starter or long reliever when needed. The Pirates assigned him to the Arizona Fall League after the 2014 season, so they felt there was some potential. Harlan turned 26 yesterday, so he was on the old side for a prospect, and he was likely headed back to Altoona’s bullpen if he returned.
Nick Hibbing was drafted by the Pirates in the 16th round last year, four years after they drafted him out of high school. He pitched well in Morgantown’s bullpen, but he also turned 23 before the end of the season. He likely would have had a limited role in West Virginia’s bullpen this season.
The Pirates recently added two right-handed pitchers from the Dominican. Both pitchers are at Pirate City now for physicals, but they are only here for a short time. They will report to the Dominican academy and they are scheduled for the DSL this year.
Sergio Cubilete is 6’4″, 185 pounds and 20 years old, while Jose Delgado is 6’3″, 195 pounds and 21 years old. We will get reports on them after they report to the Dominican and begin Spring Training over there.
Lefty Luis Diaz is also at Pirate City, over from the DSL, but he is here due to a shoulder injury. Diaz is a 17-year-old, who was signed back in July after he started hitting 92 mph. That was a jump of nearly 15 mph over where he was the previous July. He received a $50,000 bonus.
