Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Potential Rule 5 Draft Casualities

Pitcher Eddy Yean

Acquired as the headliner of the Josh Bell swap, right-handed pitcher Eddy Yean showed some talent down at Low-A Bradenton. His bottom-line numbers were inflated by a few bad outings but overall showed some improved stuff. Yean was Rule 5 eligible this year and the Pirates opted to let him go unprotected.

Last year, Yean pitched 66.2 innings with a 5.27 ERA and FIP to go with a 1.43 WHIP. Yean had a solid 23.3% strikeout rate and 1.08 HR/9 but struggled greatly with free passes. Yean surrendered a walk to 13.2% of all batters faced. Though like stated earlier, two outings inflated these numbers. Outside of these two outings where he gave up a combined 10 earned runs in just a single inning, Yean’s ERA drops a significant amount to a 3.97 mark. While that’s not fantastic, it’s a whole heck of a lot better than 5.27.

Yean throws a fastball, slider, and changeup, all of which project as above-average offerings. The right-hander saw an uptick in velocity. He averaged around 93-95 MPH going into this year but was sitting closer to 94-96 MPH. His command is his only issue. If he can overcome that, he is one of the Pittsburgh Pirates most underrated pitching prospects.

Yean definitely fits the bill of high-ceiling prospect with a good fastball who will get attention in the Rule 5 draft. But the difference between Yean and Thomas is two years of age. Yean will go into 2022 at just 20-years-old and won’t turn 21 until late June. It’s not uncommon for very young players to get picked, but Yean is very young, even for the Rule 5 Draft. Yean might be a guy with a lot of raw talent, but he’s still far off from being MLB ready, so much so that teams will likely pass on him.