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Players You Forgot the Pittsburgh Pirates Drafted: Part 4

By Noah Wright

CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 02: Rajai Davis #20 of the Cleveland Indians celebrates as he runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning to tie the game 6-6 against the Chicago Cubs in Game Seven of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on November 2, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 02: Rajai Davis #20 of the Cleveland Indians celebrates as he runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the eighth inning to tie the game 6-6 against the Chicago Cubs in Game Seven of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on November 2, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 03: Stephen Drew #10 of the Washington Nationals reacts to the game winning hit by teammate Ryan Raburn #18 (not pictured) in the ninth inning against the New York Mets at Nationals Park on July 3, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 03: Stephen Drew #10 of the Washington Nationals reacts to the game winning hit by teammate Ryan Raburn #18 (not pictured) in the ninth inning against the New York Mets at Nationals Park on July 3, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

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.

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