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Morning Report: Checking the Progress of the 2014 Draft Class

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The draft coverage on this site will start to increase soon, as we have less than seven weeks now until the draft begins. There will be a draft article here later this morning (possibly up by the time you’re reading this), talking about a new mock draft. You can expect the frequency of mock drafts to increase soon. With that in mind, I want to give updates over the next few days on the recent drafts and how the players are doing. We started with the most recent draft yesterday, now we move on to the 2014 draft. The Pirates signed 32 players during the 2014 draft and spent over $7,500,000 in bonuses on those players. Here is a brief update on all of those player listed in the order in which they were drafted.

Cole Tucker – Was starting to heat up at West Virginia last year when he went down with a labrum injury at the end of July. Hasn’t returned to regular season action yet, but he is playing games in Extended Spring Training. He is still about ten weeks shy of his 20th birthday.

Connor Joe – Struggling defensively at a new position (3B) and offensively. His impressive BB/SO ratio and low strikeout rate from 2014 have both been missing early on.

Mitch Keller – Has looked terrific in all three starts for WV. Two games he dominated with strikeouts, the other one he got a lot of soft contact and made quick work of the opposition. Just seven hits allowed in 15 scoreless innings, no walks and 23 strikeouts.

Trey Supak – Traded to Brewers, Extended Spring Training

Jordan Luplow – Had more value as a third baseman, but he moved back to the outfield for now. He’s a patient hitter with some power. Has a .759 OPS at Bradenton

Taylor Gushue – A little too early to get excited because he had a .629 OPS last year at WV, but he has been hitting the ball well for Bradenton. Was young for a college player in this draft class (he’s 16 months younger than Connor Joe, yet they were both college Juniors), so could be hitting his stride now.

Michael Suchy – Off to a very slow start for Bradenton, his hometown team. Had 54 walks and 49 extra-base hits for WV last year

Tyler Eppler – Has looked real good in three starts for Altoona. Showing the stuff of a future Major League starter

Nelson Jorge – Extended Spring Training

Austin Coley – Had two rough starts for Bradenton, before bouncing back Thursday night with a strong outing

Kevin Krause – Recovering from Tommy John surgery, Extended Spring Training

Alex McRae – Got roughed up for the second time on Friday. Has also thrown five shutout innings twice. Last year with WV was very similar, not much middle ground

Gage Hinsz – Extended Spring Training, 25th ranked prospect in the system

Tyler Filliben –  Backup infielder at WV for the second straight season

Frank Duncan – Missed time early due to an oblique injury. Returned recently and has pitched well for Altoona is an extended relief role

Chase Simpson – Part-time starter for Bradenton, splitting time between 1B/3B/DH

Eric Dorsch – Released this spring

Sam Street – Reliever for Bradenton, has issued seven walks this year in nine innings, after 13 walks in 85.2 innings last year

Michael Clemens – Suspended for PED’s in 2014 then released shortly after.

Erik Lunde – 26th or 27th man for Bradenton (Trace Tam Sing is the other player). Third string catcher

Carl Anderson – Hasn’t been healthy since 2014, Extended Spring Training

John Sever – retired this off-season

Eric Thomas Jr. – Extended Spring Training

Eric Karch – Reliever for WV, began year in Extended Spring Training

Erik Forgione – Extended Spring Training

Jerrick Suiter – Struggling at the plate for Bradenton, looks strong defensively at first base

Jess Amedee – Extended Spring Training

Nick Neumann – Reliever for Bradenton, used in any role, mop up, closer, long man, etc

David Andriese – Released last year

Luis Paula – Injured in Extended Spring Training

Montana DuRapau – Reliever for Altoona, used in closer role

Palmer Betts – Released this spring

I’ve included the link to our 2014 draft tracker to answer any questions about rounds, positions, or just generally, “who are these late round guys?”.

PIRATES GAME GRAPH


Source: FanGraphs

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates won 8-7 over the Diamondbacks on Friday night. Juan Nicasio will get the ball tonight, making his fourth start. He allowed three runs over six innings in his last outing. In his only road game, Nicasio gave up four runs over six innings. The Diamondbacks will counter with Rubby De La Rosa, making his third start. He has also made three relief appearances. He has an 8.44 ERA and 1.69 WHIP in 10.2 innings. His longest outing was 4.2 innings.

In Indianapolis, Jameson Taillon makes his third start of the season. He faced Toledo in each of his first two games, throwing a total of 10.1 innings, allowing three runs on 12 hits and no walks, with 12 strikeouts. The opposing pitcher is Josh Smith, who spent part of 2015 with the Reds. He has thrown 11 shutout innings this season.

For Bradenton, Brandon Waddell makes his fourth start. He has been very impressive early on, posting a .148 BAA and a 0.63 WHIP through 16 innings.

For West Virginia, Logan Sendelbach gets his fourth start and he has pitched surprisingly well this season after struggling with Bristol last year. He has a .223 BAA, 0.93 WHIP and a 1.27 GO/AO ratio, to go along with a 1.80 ERA.

MLB: Pittsburgh (9-8) @ Diamondbacks (9-9) 8:10 PM
Probable starter: Juan Nicasio (4.80 ERA, 7:17 BB/SO, 15.0 IP)

AAA: Indianapolis (7-6) @ Louisville (6-7) 2:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Jameson Taillon (2.61 ERA, 0:10 BB/SO, 10.1 IP)

AA: Altoona (6-9) vs Richmond (6-10) 1:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Jason Creasy (5.63 ERA, 4:7 BB/SO, 16.0 IP)

High-A: Bradenton (7-9) @ St Lucie (10-6) 6:30 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Brandon Waddell (1.13 ERA, 2:13 BB/SO, 16.0 IP)

Low-A: West Virginia (13-3) @ Lexington (7-9) 6:35 PM  (season preview)
Probable starter: Logan Sendelbach (1.80 ERA, 2:8 BB/SO, 15.0 IP)

HIGHLIGHTS

Here is one that is a little old, but first time linked here (Indy and Altoona didn’t have anything good). Ke’Bryan Hayes smacks an RBI single to center field. Newsflash: He’s good.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

4/22: Pirates recall Jason Rogers. Cole Figueroa optioned to Indianapolis.

4/21: Pirates release Michael Morse.

4/21: Jhondaniel Medina assigned to Altoona.

4/21: Cory Luebke assigned to Indianapolis on rehab.

4/20: Jared Hughes assigned to Indianapolis on rehab.

4/19: Julio Vivas added to West Virginia roster. Logan Ratledge assigned to Morgantown.

4/18: Jung-ho Kang assigned to Indianapolis on rehab.

4/16: Trevor Williams placed on disabled list. Jhondaniel Medina promoted to Indianapolis.

4/15: John Kuchno promoted to Indianapolis. Frank Duncan added to Altoona roster.

4/14: Cory Luebke placed on disabled list. Pirates recall Rob Scahill.

4/14: Pirates sign Justin Masterson.

4/14: Chad Kuhl assigned to Indianapolis.

4/13: Michael Morse designated for assignment. Pirates select contract of A.J. Schugel.

4/13: Pedro Florimon sent outright to Indianapolis.

4/13: West Virginia places Cesilio Pimentel on disabled list. Eric Karch added to roster.

4/11: Pirates release John Holdzkom.

THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY

Five former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, including one that made his only big league appearances in a significant game in Pirates history. Connie Walsh pitched one inning in the Majors, playing his only game on September 16,1907. He pitched in relief of Babe Adams, who was making his first start with the Pirates. Adams went on to win 194 games with the Pirates, the second highest total in team history. Walsh gave up one run on a walk and a hit in his inning. He pitched in the minors until 1914 and managed for three seasons, but never made it back to the Majors. During that Walsh/Adams game, the Pirates lost 5-1 to the St Louis Cardinals. It was the second game of a doubleheader.

Other Pirates players born on this date include: Pitcher Dave Davidson (2007), pitcher Ron Blackburn (1958-59), pitcher Ray Starr (1944-45) and outfielder Bob Ganley (1905-06). Ganley was a late-season addition in 1905, hitting .315 in 32 games. That earned him the right field job in 1906, and he hit .258 with 41 walks, 63 runs scored and 19 stolen bases in 137 games. The Pirates sold him to the Washington Senators at the end of the season.

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John Dreker
John Dreker
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.

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