Pittsburgh Pirates Top 30 Prospects: Ranking from 30-25

#28, Reliever, Dovydas Neverauskas

Dovydas Neverauskas is a hard throwing reliever who was picked up via an International signing.  However, the key is he is not from the traditional locations such as the Caribean or Central America, he instead hails from the small country of Lithuania in Southern Europe.  Dovydas signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 2009 when he was sixteen. Originally a starting pitcher, Neverauskas transitioned to the bullpen during the 2015 season.  Since that move he has seen much better results, and he has gone from just another minor leaguer with a good arm to having a legitimate shot at making the majors and having some success.

Neverauskas mainly throws two pitches, a fastball and a slider.  However, with his fastball, he also throws a cutter.  His fastball and cutter mainly sit in the mid to high 90s, topping out at 97-98.  Meanwhile, his high 80s slider is above average and should be a good out pitch in the majors.  In 22 games at Double-A, the Lithuanian posted a 2.57 earned run average.  He then went to Triple-A where he saw his ERA climb up to 3.60.  Neverauskas is likely to start at Triple-A this season.  He very well could be one of the first relievers called up when an injury occurs.  He profiles as a future seventh or eighth inning reliever.

#27, Max Moroff, Second Base

Max Moroff made his big league debut in July of 2016.  Moroff was a 16th round draft pick in 2012.  He received a rather a large bonus for a 16th round pick, grabbing $300,000.  Looking at Moroff’s power numbers and batting average will not tell the whole story about the infielder.  His best trait is his versatility on defense and ability to get on base.

Moroff is listed by Baseball Reference as a second baseman and a shortstop.  However, in 2016 he also saw time at third base for Triple-A Indy.  On the offensive side, there is not much that will grab one’s attention.  His career batting average is .255 and he has slugged at a .365 rate.  With that being said, Moroff has a career on-base percentage of .356, 101 points higher than his career batting average.

Moroff is known for his discipline and patience at the plate.  He really showed this last year when he got on base at a .367 clip, despite hitting .230 on the season.  This was by far his worst year in terms of actual hitting, but somehow he still found himself on base by walking 90 times.  Because of this, Moroff’s ceiling is a utility infield player.  He will likely be good for double switches and being sent to the plate when the Pirates need a base runner against a pitcher with questionable command.