Pittsburgh Pirates: 2016 Draft Prospect Roundup 8/18

Like the weekly “Prospect Roundup” that is posted every Wednesday, Thursdays will be dedicated to how the 2016 draft picks are fairing. The article will mainly look at the top ten picks from the Pittsburgh Pirates draft.

Obviously the Pittsburgh Pirates draft pick Nick Lodolo will not be included as he did not sign, therefore 11th round pick Max Kranick will be on the list. This works out as Kranick was considered a high upside pick (ranked in the top 100 draft prospects). The players will go in the order they were drafted.

Right handed hitting third baseman Will Craig. In West Virginia (A-): 46 games, 200 plate appearances, .244/.375/.338, 1 home run, 16 RBIs, 123 wRC+, 0.97 walk/strikeout ratio. 16 errors, 0.846 fielding percentage.
Right handed pitcher Travis MacGregor. In the Gulf Coast (Rookie): 7 games, 1-0, 23 innings, 2.74 ERA, 4.08 FIP, 1.63 strikeout/walk ratio.
Right handed hitting shortstop Stephen Alemais. In West Virginia (A-): 37 games, 162 plate appearances, .260/.296/.313, 1 home run, 18 RBIs, 85 wRC+, 0.29 walk/strikeout ratio, 8 stolen bases, 72.7 stolen base percentage.
Left handed pitcher Braeden Ogle. In the Gulf Coast (Rookie): 6 games, 0-1, 17.2 innings, 1.53 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 1.67 strikeout/walk ratio.
Right handed pitcher Blake Cederlind. In Bristol (Rookie): 6 games, 0-1, 17.1 innings, 4.67 ERA, 4.83 FIP, 2.00 strikeout/walk ratio.
Left handed pitcher Cam Vieaux. In West Virginia (A-): 11 games, 1-2, 52 innings, 3.81 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 2.12 strikeout/walk ratio.
Right handed hitting catcher Brent Gibbs. In Bristol (Rookie): 19 games, 73 plate appearances, .236/.371/.309, 0 home runs, 6 RBIs, 100 wRC+, 0.78 walk/strikeout ratio, has caught 10 of 27 base stealers (37 percent caught stealing).
Right handed relief pitcher Dylan Prohoroff. In West Virginia (A-): 15 games, 0-1, 22.1 innings, 4.43 ERA, 3.68 FIP, 2.09 strikeout/walk ratio.
Left handed hitting outfielder Clark Eagan. In West Virginia (A-): 30 games, 122 plate appearances, .277/.311/.375, 0 home runs, 16 RBIs, 106 wRC+, 0.30 walk/strikeout ratio.
Right handed pitcher Matt Anderson. In West Virginia (A-): 9 games, 5 starts, 2-1, 19.1 innings, 2.79 ERA, 1.31 FIP, 3.88 strikeout/walk ratio.
Right handed pitcher Max Kranick. In the Gulf Coast (Rookie): 7 games, 1-2, 25.2 innings, 2.45 ERA, 3.08 FIP, 6.50 strikeout/walk ratio.

Will Craig got off to an extremely slow start, hitting .198/.371/.309 in his first 25 games and 105 plate appearances, but he did post a 119 wRC+. As the third baseman has continued to transition from a hitter friendly park at Wake Forrest and using wood, the Pirates first round pick has hit .291/.379/.367 in his last 21 games and 95 plate appearances, and he has posted a 128 wRC+. Craig is starting to turn it around, but his defense is still an issue, as he has 16 errors in his 32 games at third base.

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In his first two games of professional ball, prep arm Max Kranick allowed four earned runs in 4.1 innings, but since those two games, he has allowed only three earned runs in 21.1 innings. Most importantly for him, is the fact he continues throwing strikes and not walking hitters, walking only two batters out of the 100 he has faced.

Dylan Prohoroff has a very high ERA so for into his professional career, but as a reliever and such a small sample of innings, it should not be a large concern. His strikeout percentage of 21.9 percent is very good, but his walk rate of 10.5 percent is rather concerning, but it’s still early. In his three years at college, Prohoroff posted a 3.13 walks per nine, but this year at Cal State Fullerton it was down to 1.71.

*Numbers from fangraphs and baseball cube

Like the weekly “Prospect Roundup” that is posted every Wednesday, Thursdays will be dedicated to how the 2016 draft picks are fairing. The article will mainly look at the top ten picks from the Pittsburgh Pirates draft.

More from Rum Bunter

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