Pittsburgh Pirates: 2015 Draft Pick Review

Third Round Pick, Casey Hughston, Outfielder

Hughston seemed like the the best power potential bat the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted.  He was one of the younger players in the draft, being a sophomore eligible draftee.  He played at Alabama and hit in the middle of their lineup.

Hughston played 61 games in 2015 at Short-Season Morgantown (NYPL).  He was abysmal.  n those 61 games he batted .224 with an OPS of .577.  Many hoped that the third round pick was just having trouble adjusting to wooden bats and that in 2016 he would start to show why the Bucs used a third round selection on him.

Well, 2016 has been even worse.  He has played 45 games at Low-A West Virginia.  He is only batting .194 with an OPS of .656.  At one point the Pittsburgh Pirates sent him down to Pirate City to try and work with him outside of minor league play.  This has not shown any benefit yet.

Fourth Round Pick, Jacob Taylor, Right-Handed Pitcher

Taylor was a high, upside, power arm out of Pearl River CC in Mississippi.  Many viewed Taylor as a potential future closer for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  His fastball sits 93-95 miles per hour and can reach as high as 97 miles per hour.  The questions around him is whether or not he would be able to command his pitches.

Taylor started his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates at their Gulf Coast League affiliate.  In his frist game he threw one innings, struck out two batters and talked three, but he did not give up any runs.  After that game, it was announced that Taylor would need Tommy-John surgery.  So with that, Taylor has only thrown one innings between 2015 and so far in 2016.

Next: Waddell and Brubaker