The Pirates Prospects 2017 Prospect Guide is now available for pre-sales. The book will be released the week before Spring Training, and we are currently in the process of making the final changes with editing and formatting.
The book features prospect reports on everyone in the system, the 2017 top 50 prospects, and the most comprehensive coverage of the Pirates’ farm system that you can find. Subscribers to the site get discounted books, with Top Prospect subscribers getting $10 off, and Annual subscribers getting $5 off. The eBook will be released when the book is released, and will also come with discounts. Details on the promotions can be found on the products page, and you can subscribe to the site or upgrade your current plan on the subscriptions page.
While the top 50 prospects are exclusive to the book, we will be releasing the top 20 prospects over the next few weeks as a countdown to the start of Spring Training, and to give a preview of the release of the book. We will be wrapping up on Monday, February 13th. The reports will only be available to site subscribers, including those with a monthly plan. You can subscribe here, and if you like these reports, be sure to purchase your copy of the book on the products page of the site to get much more analysis on every player in the system.
To recap the countdown so far:
20. Alen Hanson, 2B
17. Elias Diaz, C
16. Max Kranick, RHP
We continue the countdown with the number 14 prospect, Braeden Ogle.
14. Braeden Ogle, LHP
The Pirates signed four over-slot prep pitchers from the 2016 draft, and Braeden Ogle was easily the most impressive based on the early results. Ogle is a big left-hander who already sits 94-96 MPH in the early innings, with a lot of movement on his fastball. He drops off in velocity as the game goes on, but still maintains a good low-90s velocity in the later innings. He could be able to maintain the mid-90s velocity throughout his start as he adds muscle and fills out his frame.
The downside to Ogle’s fastball right now is that he has poor command. His stuff is good enough right now that he will be able to get a lot of swings and misses in the lower levels, but he will need a change in the upper levels. His issues with command were a reminder of Mitch Keller when he was in the GCL. Both pitchers showed good velocity, and both had the stuff to dominate the lower levels, even with command issues. Keller made an adjustment to his mechanics in his second full season, fixing his command. Ogle will have to do the same down the line to have upper level success.
Many of the prep pitchers the Pirates took this year grew up hearing that throwing a breaking ball at an early age was bad for future arm health. Ogle’s parents read those studies, and restricted him from throwing a breaking pitch until high school. Because of this, Ogle is comfortable with the changeup, but is still developing a breaking pitch.
Ogle originally went with a slurve that sat in the low-70s in high school. The pitch was too slow, and would get loopy. He then switched to a harder slider, sitting in the 83-84 MPH range. The pitch was modeled after the slider that Noah Syndergaard uses, with Ogle using the same grip in order to get more velocity. He was getting a lot of swings and misses with the pitch by the end of the year.
There is a good chance for a nice three-pitch mix here, with the new slider showing a lot of promise. He already has the lively fastball and a lot of comfort in the changeup. Adding the slider to the mix should help Ogle develop the out pitch he needs to eventually be an effective starter or a power reliever. However, he is going to need to improve his command in order to eventually become a starter. Right now, his stuff is ahead of everyone else from the 2016 prep class, and if he can make the same strides with his command that Keller made, the Pirates could have a very exciting left-handed starting pitching prospect in their lower levels.
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