Pittsburgh Pirates 2020 Draft Pick Jack Hartman Undergoes Surgery

The Pittsburgh Pirates only used one draft pick on a hitter in 2020, with the rest being spent on pitchers.  One of those arms needed to get surgery this offseason.

When selecting pitchers in the draft, there is a lot of risk.  Some of the risk involved is whether or not a player will be able to reach their ceiling, stay in shape, and just in general improve on what gets them drafted.  However, another concern with drafting young arms is the unknown of their previous usage.  This is something that the Pittsburgh Pirates and other teams across baseball are trying to pay more attention too.

Every year during the draft, top prospects get passed over do to injury concerns. This is even more true pitchers, especially those who get hurt before the draft see their stock take a much bigger plunge compared to a hitter.  Often pitchers who have arm issues get passed over for less talented players.  This is because teams value health just as much, if not more, than a player’s overall projectability.

Still, teams can only have so much access to these young prospects.  It is hard to track how many innings they really threw before the collegiate level.  Even that has become harder with summer leagues and fall baseball.  Some pitchers can look fine, then all of a sudden their elbow lets out, even if the medicals check out.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are dealing with another pitching prospect in need of Tommy-John surgery. In fact, it is a young arm that they drafted in 2020.  Jason Mackey had the news this afternoon:

This obviously is a tough blow for Hartman.  After being drafted and starting your professional career, you hate to see a young player have such a significant injury.  The good news is that Hartman is with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization at this point, no better place for him to rehab and work back to mound.

"Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher Jack Hartman stands at 6’3” and weighs around 200 pounds. He was a 2020 Draft pick with a plus fastball and potential for a plus breaking pitch. Hartman will likely be back by mid-late summer"

Hartman was the team’s fourth round pick out of Appalachian State.  He formerly was a shortstop before converting to the mound in 2019.  Hartman obviously showed plus arm strength in the infield and took a chance to become a pitcher.  It worked out, as Hartman projects to be a backend of the rotation/RP type arm.  Hopefully, this injury does not stunt his development and he can get back to being full healthy for 2021.