Blake Weiman

BLAKE WEIMAN, LEFT HANDED PITCHER
Born: November 5, 1995
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 208
Bats: Right
Throws: Left
Drafted: 8th Round, 238th Overall, 2017
How Acquired: Draft
College: University of Kansas
Agent: N/A

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

Weiman is a left-hander with a clean, low-effort delivery that produces a fastball in the 88-92 MPH range.  He mixes that with a solid slider and above average command of both pitches.  He filled out considerably in college, putting on 35 pounds according to Baseball America.  He was mainly a starter as a sophomore in 2016, but he didn’t have the stamina to hold his velocity deep into games.  In 2017, he made 30 appearances, all in relief.  He put up a 2.80 ERA in 45 innings, with five walks and 55 strikeouts.  Opponents batted .263 against him, which was slightly above the team average.  Those numbers were substantial improvements over his first two seasons, when he had ERAs of 6.75 as a freshman swing man and 6.82 as a sophomore.  He signed for $10,700 under the slot amount.

2017
A-:  4-3-1, 3.78 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 33.1 IP, 1.1 BB/9, 9.5 K/9

Weiman had a good debut pitching in relief for Morgantown.  He got hit a little more than you’d like to see; opponents batted .273 against him in a league that hit .240.  He walked very few, though, and struck out over a batter an inning.  Weiman had a big platoon split, with right-handed batters posting an OPS against him of .768 while left-handed batters managed only .561.

2018
A:  1-0-3, 1.29 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 28.0 IP, 0.6 BB/9, 11.3 K/9
A+:  2-1-2, 3.90 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 32.1 IP, 1.7 BB/9, 10.3 K/9
AA:  1-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 6.2 IP, 1.4 BB/9, 6.8 K/9

Weiman opened the season in the West Virginia bullpen and dominated there.  The Pirates promoted him at the end of May and he mostly pitched well at Bradenton, but two bad outings inflated his numbers.  He gave up nine of his 14 high A earned runs in those two games.  In his other 20 Bradenton games he had an ERA of 1.50, and he maintained his excellent walk and K rates.  At the end of the season he appeared in three games for Altoona.

2019
AA:  1-2-2, 1.86 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 19.1 IP, 1.9 BB/9, 11.2 K/9
AAA:  0-1-1, 4.63 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 3.1 BB/9, 7.7 K/9

Weiman missed the first few weeks of the season, then joined the Altoona bullpen.  He had little trouble there and the Pirates promoted him in mid-June.  He had more trouble in AAA and also ran into shoulder tendonitis.  He missed most of July and then went out again after two outings in early August.  It’s possible the shoulder issue impacted Weiman’s AAA numbers.  Overall, he had a modest platoon split.

Weiman could be an option for the Pirates in the near future if he can stay healthy.

CONTRACT INFORMATION
2020: Minor league contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: $150,000
MiLB Debut: 2017
MLB Debut:
MiLB FA Eligible: 2023
MLB FA Eligible:
Rule 5 Eligible: 2020
Added to 40-Man:
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
June 13, 2017: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 8th round, 238th overall pick; signed on June 20.