Adam Oller

ADAM OLLER, RIGHT-HANDED PITCHER
Born: October 17, 1994
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 228
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Drafted: 20th Round, 615th Overall, 2016
How Acquired: Draft
College: Northwestern University
Agent: N/A

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

Oller was the Friday night starter for Northwestern for three seasons and won the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2016. He pitched over 300 innings total during his three seasons, including 109.2 as a junior in 2016. Oller posted a 1.23 ERA, with 32 walks and 79 strikeouts, and he held opponents to a .207 BAA. He has never been a big strikeout pitcher and the 32 walks were a career high. According to D1 Baseball, he sat between 87-92 with his fastball, showing a plus curveball and a quality changeup, commanding all three pitches well.  He signed quickly after the draft.  In his first season in the system, he was throwing 87-90, but by 2017 he was throwing in the low-90s, topping out at 93.  He also replaced his curve with a slider.

2016
R+:  2-2-2, 4.45 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 54.2 IP, 1.5 BB/9, 7.6 K/9

Oller opened the season in the rotation at Bristol, but moved to the bullpen after he allowed nine runs in an inning and two-thirds in his second start.  After four relief appearances, he moved back to the rotation.  He pitched better, but still had a 4.24 ERA in his final seven starts.  He was best in relief; he had a 1.20 ERA in his four relief outings, all of them 3-4 innings, with 18 strikeouts in 15 innings.  Overall, opponents batted .285 against him and he had a little trouble with HRs, allowing seven.  Possibly due to the changeup, Oller was much more effective against left-handed hitters, holding them to an OPS of .661, while right-handed hitters had an OPS of .847.  His basic profile was very common among the pitchers the Pirates had at Bristol, especially the college pitchers:  fairly hittable with low walk and somewhat low K rates.

2017
A-:  5-3-1, 1.59 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 45.1 IP, 1.8 BB/9, 9.9 K/9

Except for two starts, Oller pitched out of the Morgantown bullpen and had an outstanding season, with excellent numbers across the board.  Hitters managed just a measly 188/244/225 line against him.  In his last game of the season, he started and threw five and two-thirds shutout innings, striking out ten.

2018
A:  1-1-1, 4.40 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 1.9 BB/9, 9.4 K/9
A+:  2-4-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 58.2 IP, 3.2 BB/9, 8.1 K/9

Oller opened the season in the West Virginia bullpen.  He pitched a lot better there than his ERA indicates.  After just five games, the Pirates moved him up to Bradenton.  He spent the rest of the year as a swing man there, making five starts in 24 games.  He had a rough time in high A.  His walk and K rates were good, and opponents hit .277 against him, which is poor but not terrible.  His big problem was gopher balls, of which he allowed better than one every four innings.  He was effective against right-handed hitters, holding them to an OPS of .628, but left-handed hitters torched him for a 1.013 OPS, including a home run every 12 at-bats.

Oller’s stuff doesn’t seem to have played well at Bradenton.  He’ll probably return there in 2019.

CONTRACT INFORMATION
2019: Minor league contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: $70,000
MiLB Debut: 2016
MLB Debut:
MiLB FA Eligible: 2022
MLB FA Eligible:
Rule 5 Eligible: 2019
Added to 40-Man:
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
June 11, 2016: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 20th round, 615th overall pick; signed on June 16.