Pittsburgh Pirates: Ranking the Prospects Acquired This Offseason

Drake Fellows

The San Diego Padres selected Drake Fellows out of Vanderbilt in 2019. They chose him with their 6th round pick, but could have gone earlier. The right-hander was one of the four pieces of the Musgrove deal. Fellows was solid in college having a 3.85 ERA, 3.52 FIP and 1.23 WHIP in 275.2 innings. Fellows also had some decent peripherals. He had a 26.1% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 0.8 HR/9 rate.

Fellows did not really struggle in any departments, but nor did he excel either. He uses a three pitch mix. His four seam fastball only sits in the low-90s and tops out around 95 MPH. His slider is another solid pitch and both had 55 grades on MLB Pipeline before the 2019 draft. He also will throw a change-up which was graded out as a 50-offering.

Like Crowe, Fellows doesn’t project as some top of the rotation starter. However, he’s still seen as a guy who can slot into a back of the rotation spot and give you a handful of solid innings. Next year will be his first professional season and his age023 campaign. Given his age, he could be a fast riser through the minors.