The Pittsburgh Pirates set their 40-man roster today, protecting four prospects from the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Two of those players — Endy Rodriguez and Mike Burrows — were universally expected to be protected.
From that point, I don’t know if I saw a consensus of who the Pirates would end up protecting. They ended up protecting Jared Triolo and Colin Selby.
You can read about each player below, and what you can expect going forward — along with what the additions might say about how the Pirates view Triolo and Selby.
ENDY RODRIGUEZ, C
It’s not a surprise that Rodriguez was added to the roster. He’s probably going to enter the 2023 season as a consensus top 100 prospect, possibly trending inside the top 50. In my book, he’s the best prospect in the system.
Endy Rodriguez is Looking Like the Best Prospect in the Pirates System
Rodriguez finished the season in Triple-A, and didn’t look like he had much to work on in Double-A from his time in Altoona. I could see Rodriguez taking over the starting catching job in Pittsburgh by the middle of 2023.
MIKE BURROWS, RHP
In addition to Quinn Priester — who isn’t Rule 5 eligible yet and isn’t on the 40-man — I think Mike Burrows can help to provide the Pirates with a rotation boost from the farm system.
The fact that Burrows has more time in Triple-A, and is now on the 40-man, will probably put him higher on the 2023 depth chart. I think he ends up in the MLB rotation by the middle of the season.
JARED TRIOLO, 3B
I’m not surprised that the Pirates added Triolo. He’s an amazing defender at third base, and is one of the top option from the farm system if Ke’Bryan Hayes goes down. The fact that the Pirates can replace an MLB Gold Glove candidate with a minor league Gold Glove winner is a huge plus for their defensive depth. Triolo can also play other positions, giving him a chance to break into the majors as a super utility guy. This also would have made it more likely for him to stick in the majors as a Rule 5 selection.
First Pitch: Jared Triolo is a Positive Emerging From the Pirates Farm System
Triolo is an on-base machine at the plate, with a .376 OBP this year in Double-A, including a .395 over the final two months. That was huge, as he saw a power boost down the stretch, without sacrificing his plus plate patience. I could see Triolo breaking into the majors as a bench option in 2023, which will be his age 25 season. He played third, short, and center field in 2022, and at the least would be an interesting super utility backup at those prime spots.
COLIN SELBY, RHP
I won’t say that it’s a surprise that Selby was taken, especially with the stuff he possesses. Rylan Domingues from Tread Athletics had a breakdown earlier on Tuesday.
Colin Selby, a Rule 5-eligible pitcher in the Pirates org, would be the 2nd best pitcher stuff wise in their pen right now.
FB: 97-99 MPH (been up to 100)
SL: High 80s gyro-ish
CB: Low 80s with sweep and depthAnd he made quite the showing in the AFL this year.
Anthony Murphy had some additional details on that slider from the Arizona Fall League.
Want some more Colin Selby hype? just remember this is an EXTREME SMALL SAMPLE SIZE. Slider data from AFL
Velo – 88.0
Spin – 2586
VBreak – 33.23
HBreak – 5.28
Whiffs – 70% (7/10 swings)
CSW – 52.38%#LetsGoBucs— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) November 15, 2022
What stands out to me from the first tweet is that Selby ranks above Yerry De Los Santos in stuff. Last year, De Los Santos wasn’t protected, despite good stuff and great numbers in Double-A. Selby has the advantage in stuff, and arguably had a more dominant season in Altoona.
De Los Santos eventually made it to the majors by the end of May. The fact that Selby was added suggests to me that the Pirates plan to use him earlier in the season. It also could suggest that they simply thought he could have been lost. Honestly, with that stuff and those results in Double-A, he should be on the radar for their bullpen. He just turned 25 last month, so the Pirates might as well get started seeing what he can do, rather than risk losing him. I don’t think it’s out of the question to see him get a legit shot to break Spring Training with the Major League team.
That’s a massive difference from where he was at the same point this year, returning from Tommy John surgery. Despite that, he at least had John Dreker’s attention heading into the year (the article below is from February 2022).
P2Daily: A Look a What Makes Colin Selby a Prospect to Watch
By the end of the 2022 season, Selby ended up on the 40-man roster. That’s quite the recovery.
Highlight of the Day
Pirates Prospects Daily
The big news today was the setting of the 40-man roster. Check out that article below.
**Pirates Add Endy Rodriguez, Mike Burrows, Colin Selby and Jared Triolo to 40-Man Roster
We also had our Article Drop, linked below in the Pirates Prospects Weekly.
Song of the Day
Pirates Prospects Weekly
The Pirates had a great season in the Arizona Fall League, with their players helping Surprise to a championship. The 2022 group included three first round picks who all stood out. John Dreker recapped the progress of the eight players in the AFL to lead off this week’s Article Drop.
Pirates 2022 AFL Recap: Three First Round Picks Stand Out in Arizona
Anthony Murphy recapped the debut of the 2022 draft picks earlier this week. There wasn’t much from those debuts. We’ve had more of a chance to see the 2019-2021 groups. Anthony broke all three classes down, based on what we saw this past season.
These classes include drafts under Ben Cherington and Neal Huntington. The amateur scouting department has largely stayed the same during this period. That department has been a growing strength in the organization for years. My takeaway from this article series is that the strength is still there. The Pirates are still finding a lot of future MLB talent. The question still remains whether they’ll be able to maximize that talent in Pittsburgh one day.
Recapping the First Full Professional Season From the Pirates 2021 Draft Class
Recapping the Progress of Ben Cherington’s First Draft Class With the Pirates
How Have the 2019 Pirates Draft Picks Performed After a Crazy Three Years?
We had weekly, monthly, and annual award winners this year. Check out all of the winners:
Pirates Prospects 2022 Award Winners
Check back tomorrow at noon for my latest column, looking at how the Pirates are adding talent in the rebuild.
Pirates Discussion
Weekly Pirates Discussion: Free Agent Targets For the 2023 Rotation
