Pirates Draft Review and More Rule 5 Picks

Fan Graphs writer Marc Hulet gives credit for the Pirates for spending big cash in the 2009 draft.  Check out the article because it sounds awful familiar.  We enjoy the Fan Graphs articles as they are based more on numbers than ‘tools.’   The review is available by pounding here.

Also, we dug around the dumpsters of MLB to find a few more Rule 5 possibilities to think about.

Neil Wagner. Indians. (25, RHP).    ‘one of the best fastballs in the Indians system,’ has struck out over ten batters per nine IP.  His walks at AA did rise this season to over four batters per nine.  He had a 2.95 ERA .  Vic Gregovitis would say he lacks a quality secondary pitch, but a 98 MPH fastball is hard to ignore.

Erik Stiller.  Indians.  (25, RHP).  The Pirates could have one of the most intelligent pitching staffs in the league as Stiller is a Princeton product. At 6’5″, he has the famous downward plane and his fastball tops out in the mid-90s, and he also works in a cutter, curveball, and changeup.

Brayan Villareal.  Tigers.  (22, RHP).   Class A production rivals any starter in the Pirates system.   10+ strikeouts per nine innings.  He doesn’t give up the free pass as he walked less than three per nine IP.  Solid ERA and FIP both under 3.00 

Brian Dinkleman.  Twins.  (26, 2B).  Worried about the middle infield for the Pirates?  Check out this four year Minnesota Twin (three full seasons) and you will find a great glove and a solid bat.  He has only reached AA but batted .296/.383/.440 this year, demonstrating good strike zone discipline and a bit of power in his compact swing.  He doesn’t strike out much.