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 15 prospect, Trevor Williams.
15. Trevor Williams, RHP
The Pirates added Williams in a compensation trade for losing Jim Benedict to the Marlins. He joined their group of pitching prospects in Triple-A last year, and eventually made it to the majors at the end of the year, mostly working out of the bullpen. He missed six weeks with a shoulder injury, and struggled when he came back, but finished strong, earning his MLB promotion. Williams has the ability to be a starter in the majors, but with all of the other prospects around him, he might have a hard time doing that in Pittsburgh.
Williams throws a four seam fastball that can get up to 94-95 MPH in shorter outings, and a sinker that sits 88-91 with solid command and a high ground ball rate. He previously relied on the sinker, but made a switch this year to pitch off the four seam more often. This was aimed at pitching more aggressively, getting back to being a power pitcher, and trying to get quicker arm speed. The hope with the arm speed was to also speed up the arm with the sinker, with the hope of getting the pitch to the low-to-mid 90s.
He also throws a slider and a curveball, although the Pirates had him focusing on the slider more, since it’s the better out pitch. He saw improvements throughout the year, and struck out ten batters in his final Triple-A start with the pitch. The slider is a harder pitch in the mid-to-upper 80s. His curve is a slurve, and isn’t an out pitch, but he’ll be keeping it around in 2017 as a change of pace pitch.
It’s hard to see Williams making the Pirates on Opening Day. He will likely pitch in the Indianapolis rotation as depth for the big league squad. A lot would have to happen for him to be a starter for a long period of time in 2017, since his profile is a back of the rotation starter, and lower than some of the guys ahead of him. His more likely path to the majors in Pittsburgh would be a power reliever, and in order to make it as a starter in the majors, he’s going to need a trade to another organization, or some unexpected improvements.
Click Here to Purchase the Pirates Prospects 2017 Prospect Guide