49.6 F
Pittsburgh

Fifth Round: Pirates Draft Catcher Grant Koch

Published:

With their fifth round pick in the 2018 MLB amateur draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected catcher Grant Koch from Arkansas.

Koch was ranked 131st by MLB Pipeline and 128th by Baseball America, making him a 4th-5th selection in their minds. His stock actually fell as a junior because he was considered a potential 2nd round pick coming into this year. At 6’0″, 190 pounds, the 21-year-old right-handed bat belted 13 homers for Arkansas last year, then put up terrific stats in summer ball, doing an excellent job of getting on base.

That had his stock high coming into the year, but he has batted just .250/.366/.397 this year, ranking last among the starters on his team in average, slugging and OPS. On defense, he’s considered a work in progress, with an average arm that displays accuracy. BA says he needs to work on his agility behind the plate, while Pipeline gives his nice marks from handling a pitching staff.

Koch has excellent raw power and the makings of a solid defensive catcher with more work behind the plate. There are questions on whether he will hit enough in the pros, mostly due to average bat speed and the fact that he can get pull happy. He should end up as the everyday catcher at Morgantown this year.

Here’s his player page.

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.

Related Articles

Article Drop

Latest Articles