Pittsburgh Pirates Draft: Examining Their 5th & 6th Round Picks

The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a strong draft so far. They’ve continued to pick players who will help them within the next two seasons with their fifth and sixth round picks.

So far, the Pittsburgh Pirates have had an extremely strong draft. They picked one of, if not the best hitter in the draft when they picked Henry Davis with the first overall pick. They took two over-slot guys in Anthony Solomento and Lonnie White Jr. in the second round. Then they picked up one of, if not the biggest steal of the draft in Bubba Chandler in the third round.

Their first fifth-round pick is an infield slugger who we could see as early as next season and it looks like they’ll continue a similar trend with their fifth and sixth-round picks. Let’s take a look at their sixth round selection, Mike Jarvis. Jarvis, a 5’10”, 180 pound utility man, has seen time at all three outfield positons, shortstop, second base and third base. At San Diego State University, Jarvis hit .367/.417/.544.

Their seventh-round pick is a bit more interesting. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected catcher Wyatt Hendrie, making two catchers they’ve gotten in the draft so far (the other being 1/1 Henry Davis). Hendrie, a teammate of Jarvis, hit .379/.464/.633 with 9 long balls,  12 doubles, and a 22/25 BB/K ratio. Hendrie is an athletic catcher as he was a converted outfielder.

According to Baseball America, Hendrie is a bit of a light hitter, but he showed some pop this past season. Wyatt is an above average runner and an above aveage fielder behind the dish. He also has a strong arm. Overall, he sounds similar to a catcher already in the Pirates’ system, Endy Rodriguez. A plus fielder who’s more athletic than most catchers. Mostly a bat-over-power kind of hitter, they’re both plus fielders and can play some outfield as well.

Both Jarvis and Hendrie are a bit older. Jarvis is still in his age-23 season. Hendrie is in his age-22 season. The San Diego State University teammates could potentially be in the majors by 2022. It’s a promising sign as they won’t be the Pirates’ only noteworthy prospects that could be in the majors by the end of 2022.