Henry Hirsch

HENRY HIRSCH, RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
Born: September 29, 1992
Height: 6′ 3″
Weight: 185
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Drafted: 22nd Round, 659th Overall, 2013
How Acquired: Draft
College: University of New Haven
Agent: N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

Hirsch is a hard throwing right-hander, sitting at 93-94 with his fastball.  His out pitch is a slider.  He was hit harder during the 2013 season with New Haven than previously, but had a good strikeout rate.  Hirsch wasn’t rated among Baseball America’s top 2013 draft prospects in Lower New England, despite the overall talent in that area being below average.  He may still be a little raw, as he had some injury problems in high school that led to him being primarily a position player for a while.  He signed a couple weeks after the draft.

2013
R:  1-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 3.0 BB/9, 3.0 K/9
A-:  2-0-2, 1.50 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 24.0 IP, 1.9 BB/9, 9.8 K/9

Hirsch made two appearances in the GCL, then moved up to Jamestown in mid-July.  His numbers there were outstanding, including a .159 opponents’ average, a low walk rate, and a K rate well above one per inning.  Left-handed batters hit only .118 against him, although the sample size was very small.  His fastball hit 96 at times.

2014
A:  4-6-1, 4.46 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 82.2 IP, 4.5 BB/9, 7.4 K/9

Hirsch spent the season at West Virginia and didn’t repeat his 2013 showing.  Opponents posted a 265/358/423 line against him and he struggled in the second half, with a 6.08 ERA and 1.68 WHIP.

2015
A+:  2-3-1, 2.89 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 87.1 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 8.8 K/9

Hirsch spent the season in the Bradenton bullpen.  He improved over the previous year, with much better walk and strikeout rates.  He held opponents to a 252/313/319 line, with no real platoon split.

2016
A+:  6-3-1, 3.75 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 62.1 IP, 3.9 BB/9, 7.8 K/9
AA:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 1.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 9.0 K/9

The Pirates sent Hirsch back to Bradenton for another year and his performance slipped.  The dropoff came mainly in the form of his walk and K rates.  It was largely the result of a bad month of June, when he had a 12.27 ERA and more walks than strikeouts.  In fact, it was mostly a bad, four-game stretch at the end of the month.  Excluding that stretch — admittedly not the best analytical method — he had a 2.04 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 3.3 BB/9.  Hirsch had a 0.75 ERA from July 1 onward, including one inning in Altoona at the end of the season.  He had a reverse platoon split, yielding a .734 OPS to right-handed hitters and only .572 to left-handed hitters.  He did a good job of keeping opponents from driving the ball, allowing an ISO of just .065.

Hirsch should get to Altoona in 2017.  He’s eligible for the Rule 5 draft now, but isn’t likely to be selected.

CONTRACT INFORMATION
2017: Minor league contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut: 2014
MLB Debut:
MiLB FA Eligible: 2019
MLB FA Eligible:
Rule 5 Eligible: 2016
Added to 40-Man:
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
June 8, 2013: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 22nd round, 659th overall pick; signed on June 21.