Players You Forgot the Pittsburgh Pirates Drafted: Part 4

Infielder Stephen Drew

One of the pretty forgotten names the Pittsburgh Pirates picked in the 2001 draft was infielder Stephen Drew. He was selected in the 11th round by the Bucs, but did not sign. Four years later, in 2005, Drew was playing with the Independent League Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League before he was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2005 draft.

Drew quickly became a fantastic prospect, batting .320/.414/.596 in 290 plate appearances with the Diamondbacks’ High-A and Double-A teams. Going into 2006, Drew was ranked as the 6th best prospect in baseball.

Though he made his debut in ‘06 as well, he didn’t break out until 2008 when he hit .291/.333/.502 with 21 home runs, 44 doubles, and a 110 OPS+/109 wRC+. Drew was a negative defender at shortstop at the time (-2 DRS, -15.7 UZR, -15.7 range runs above average), but he would quickly become a top tier defender at the physically demanding position.

After a down 2009, Drew came back in 2010 to hit .278/.352/.458 with 15 long balls, 12 triples and 33 doubles in 633 plate appearances. To go with that he had a 113 OPS+/wRC+. Unlike in 2008, Drew had become a really good defender up the middle with +8.9 UZR, +2.8 range runs above average and 0 DRS.

Drew would go on to have two middling years in 2011 and 2012 with the D-Backs and Oakland A’s, but the middle infielder would go on to play a key role in the 2013 Boston Red Sox World Series winning team. He posted a solid .253/.333/.443 line, slammed 13 long balls, and had 29 doubles in 501 plate appearances. Overall, he had an 111 OPS+ and 108 wRC+. Though DRS pinned him at -6 runs, he had a well above average UZR (8.1) and range runs above average (5.1).

While Drew would never reach those offensive heights again in a full season, he was a solid contributor for the Yankees in 2015 as a second baseman, and Washington Nationals in a part-time, infield utility role in 2016.

Pitcher Scott Baker

Scott Baker was one of the Minnesota Twins stalwart starters in the late-2000s and early 2010s. But before he became one of the Twins more recognizable pitchers in their history, he started out by being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 36th round of the 2000 draft.

Though the Pirates did not sign him, Baker went on to be drafted in the 2nd round by the Twins in 2003. He quickly became one of the Twins more notable pitching prospects, and made his debut just two years later in 2005. In his first 53.2 innings, Baker pitched to a 3.35 ERA, 3.82 FIP, and 1.15 WHIP with a mediocre 14.8% strikeout rate, but strong 6.5% walk rate and 0.8 HR/9.

After a sophomore slump caused Baker to have a poor 2006 season, Baker broke out in 2007. Though his ERA was a mere 4.26, he carried a solid 3.89 FIP, 6% walk rate, and a then career high 20.1% K rate.

From 2007 to 2011, Baker pitched to the tune of a 3.98 ERA, 3.86 FIP and 1.24 WHIP in 821 innings of work. Baker was known for his outstanding control with a 5.7% walk rate, and solid 19.4% strikeout rate. His walk rate with the Twins of just 5.6% is the 13th lowest mark in their franchise history.

His career highlight was throwing a one hitter vs the Kansas City Royals on August 31st, 2007. Baker, who averaged just 6.4 K’s/9 in ‘07, struck out 9 total, allowed one walk, and just one hit that happened to be a weak liner into no-mans-land.

Scott missed all of 2012 because of injury, and served as pitching depth for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, and LA Dodgers in his final three years of his career. But nobody can take away that no hitter from the right-hander.

First Baseman Walter Young

Now, you might be wondering, ‘Who is Walter Young?’, and you wouldn’t be wrong to ask that. Young was the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 31st round draft pick back in the 1999 draft. Young was known throughout the minors as a power hitting first baseman. By 2002, Young had hit .333/.390/.563 with 25 long balls at the Pirates A-Ball affiliate.

Though he never appeared in the Majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he did with the Baltimore Orioles. After being selected off waivers by the Orioles, Young continued to be a home run hitter, mashing 33 in 2004 with a .539 slugging percentage. Young made his debut at 25-years-old, but only played 14 MLB games, and collected 37 plate appearances where he had 10 hits, including a home run. But after that, he never appeared in a major league game. After that, he played with the San Diego Padres in the minors, and then bounced around with a handful of independent league clubs before retiring in 2009.

So what’s so notable about a power hitting first baseman who never really did much are the Major Leagues? Well, Young is the heaviest player in MLN history. During his playing career, Young came in at a hulking 6’5, 320 pounds. Tragically, Young died at just 35-years-old in 2015 from a heart attack. He had gained over 100 pounds after he retired. According to sources, he was weighing an extremely worrisome 450 pounds at the time of his passing.

Though Young never had the career of the other players we have talked about today, and died at a young age likely because of poor health choices, Young is still an interesting footnote in Pirates’ history that’s worth mentioning.

Outfielder Rajai Davis

We can’t end off this list on such a depressing note, so let’s bring up something much happier.

Rajai Davis had a long 14 year career as one of the fastest base runners in baseball, even as he approached 40-years-old. But nobody probably would have thought that when he was drafted by the Pirates in the 38th round of the 2001 draft. Though he did play with the Pittsburgh Pirates, you probably didn’t know he was selected by the team as he only was with the Bucs for 44 games, and you also probably didn’t know he was drafted as a second baseman.

The Pirates made Davis’ primary position the outfield once he reached pro ball. The speedy prospect steadily climbed throughout the Pirates’ minor league system. Although he was never consistently bad, he was never some world-beating prospect. One thing was for sure though. He could steal bases. He stole 40 or more bases each of three seasons between 2003 to 2005.

By 2006, Davis had reached the Major Leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but only appeared in 20 games. He also only received 17 plate appearances, and collected two hits, and one double. The next year, Davis received 57 plate appearances with the Bucs, and hit for a solid .271/.357/.354 line, but was traded to the San Francisco Giants during the 2007 trade deadline for former St. Louis Cardinals’ ace Matt Morris.

This was far from the last team Davis would play for. He was selected off waivers by the Oakland A’s just a year later, where he spent 2009 and 2010. Then during the 2010-2011 off season, he was sent to the Toronto Blue Jays for Danny Farquar and Trystan Magunson. This would be Davis’ home for the next three years until he reached free agency in the 2013-2014 off season. He then signed on with the Detroit Tigers where he had two of the best offensive seasons of his career, batting .272/.314/.418 with a 102 wRC+ and 54 stolen bases.

But the 2016 season is probably what most fans remember about Davis. He wasn’t particularly good offensively in the regular season, posting a .249/.303/.388 line, and 80 OPS+/83 wRC+ through 495 plate appearances. Nor was he super good defensively (-5 DRS, .7 UZR, -1.1 range runs above average). But it was his heroics in Game 7 of the World Series against the Cubs which will forever immortalize him in Cleveland Indians’ history. With two outs against the ever-so imposing Aroldis Chapman, and down by two, Davis slammed a two run home run to tie the game for the Indians. Though they would go on to lose the game, his home run is one of the most exciting moments in recent baseball history.

After 2016, he returned to Oakland, and then bounced around with the Red Sox, Mets, and the Indians. While he hasn’t officially retired yet, Davis didn’t sign on with a team for the 2020 season. However, he still has the wheels to be a serious threat on the base paths. Despite being 38-years-old in 2019, he still registered a 29.1 feet/second sprint speed, or the 50th highest mark in baseball. Not a bad career for a 38th round pick.