The Pittsburgh Pirates have added a new face to the scouting department in Puerto Rico, hiring Edwards Guzman Jr. He has some great baseball bloodlines.
Guzman Jr. will be assisting Area Supervisor John Koronka in Puerto Rico, which is part of the amateur draft side. Koronka was just recently added to cover Florida and Puerto Rico. Guzman Jr. is taking over a position that has existed in the system.
Guzman Jr. has been coaching recently in Puerto Rico, after playing two seasons in the minors for the Cincinnati Reds. He was a 2018 32nd round draft pick. He adds someone to the system who recently went through the whole draft process and knows what it takes to get a shot in the draft. He also grew up in a baseball household.
Guzman Jr’s father played three seasons in the majors, making it as a 50th round draft pick. He played for the 1999 and 2001 San Francisco Giants, as well as the 2003 Montreal Expos. He played pro ball from 1996 until the 2010-11 winter season in Puerto Rico. He’s currently an Area Scout for the Chicago Cubs.
The Pirates haven’t been active in Puerto Rico during the draft. Their last pick from the country was Nelson Jorge in the seventh round of the 2014 draft, and he never made it to full-season ball. Their only draft pick out of the country (since the draft started there in 1989) to make the majors is Alex Hernandez, who was taken in the 1995 draft. He played 27 games total for the 2000-01 Pirates.
There aren’t big hits coming out of Puerto Rico every year in the draft. Records show that 11 players with 10+ WAR have been drafted out of the country in 34 years (obviously noting that recent picks wouldn’t be there yet). A total of 18 players fall in the 1.0 to 8.1 WAR range, while another 51 have made the majors and put up less than 1.0 WAR.
You’re battling 29 other teams for those three players each year who will make the majors, and chances are two of those players will be replacement level. That shouldn’t stop you from the chance at players like Carlos Beltran, Yadier Molina, Carlos Correa, Javier Vazquez and whoever the next player who is already in the minors/majors to join that group. So it’s good to see the Pirates get two new sets of eyes (including Koronka here) on the baseball hotbed.
