Josh Poytress

JOSH POYTRESS
LEFT HANDED PITCHER
  Born: July 20, 1990
Height: 6′ 2″
Weight: 185
Bats: Right
Throws: Left
Drafted: 18th Round, 542nd Overall, 2011
How Acquired: Draft
College: Fresno State
Agent:  N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

Poytress was originally drafted by the Houston Astros in the 16th round out of high school, but chose to go to Fresno State.  He sits in the uper 80s with his fastball, and tops out at 92.  He also throws a curve and a changeup, with the latter being his best pitch.  He put up his best results in his junior year, with improved control being a big factor.  Poytress signed in late June.

2011
A-:  4-3-2, 4.28 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 33.2 IP, 2.7 BB/9, 7.8 K/9 

A little surprisingly, Poytress pitched in relief at State College, except for one start.  He struggled initially, with an ERA of 5.59 at the end of July.  In ten outings starting at the beginning of August, though, he allowed no runs except for one bad outing in which he allowed four.  He fanned 16 in 14.1 IP in that stretch.  For the season, his BB/9 and K/9 were good.  He did not have a significant platoon split.

2012
R:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 1.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 9.0 K/9
A:  2-0-0, 0.79 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 11.1 IP, 2.4 BB/9, 7.9 K/9
A+:  3-0-1, 2.59 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 41.2 IP, 5.6 BB/9, 6.3 K/9 

Poytress began 2012 in extended spring training, but moved up to West Virginia early in the season.  He pitched very well in four outings and then moved up to Bradenton.  He had a 1.33 ERA through mid-May, but it came in spite of him walking the same number he struck out.  At that point he went out with an injury.  He returned to Bradenton in July and posted a 3.80 ERA the rest of the way.  Poytress finished with a good ERA at Bradenton, but he did it despite poor walk and K rates and a poor WHIP.  He was much tougher against left-handed than right-handed batters, with a .194 opponents’ average vs. .282.

Given the time Poytress missed and the anomalies in his stat line, it’s hard to say whether he might be a prospect or not.  He could have a shot at starting 2013 in AA.

STATS
Baseball Reference–Minors
Fangraphs
MiLB.com
NCAA
W-L-Sv
G
GS
IP
H
HR
BB
K
WHIP
OAVG
ERA
2009 2-2-0 20 8 42.1 59 4 28 30 2.06 .330 4.25
2010 6-6-0 21 16 76.2 97 10 36 60 1.73 .315 5.87
2011 7-3-0 18 10 79.0 89 0 17 56 1.34 .294 2.85
CONTRACT INFORMATION
2013: Minor league contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut:
MLB Debut:
MiLB FA Eligible: 2017
MLB FA Eligible:
Rule 5 Eligible: 2014
Added to 40-Man:
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
June 6, 2008: Drafted by the Houston Astros in the 16th round, 482nd overall pick.
June 7, 2011:
Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 18th round, 542nd overall pick; signed on June 22.