Pittsburgh Pirates: Five Former Late Round Draft Picks to Watch

Outfielder Jack Herman

Jack Herman came in the 30th round of the 2018 MLB draft. Quite a late pick, but Herman has done solid throughout his minor league career so far. Across 795 total plate appearances, Herman has batted .266/.346/.466 with a .354 wOBA. He’s hit for some pop, blasting 30 long balls and having an isolated slugging percentage of .200 on the dot. Plus he’s posted a solid 10.1% walk rate. But this has come with the caveat he’s struck out 27% of the time.

This past season, Herman played a little bit everywhere. He saw time with the Pirates’ Florida Complex League affiliate, and up to High-A. All told, he posted a .238/.307/.456 line, blasted 15 home runs in 326 trips to the plate and had a .334 wOBA. Herman continued to show his prowess to hit for extra bases, cranking out 15 homers and running out 17 doubles. All told, he had a healthy .218 ISO. But he walked in just 8.9% of all his plate appearances while still having a high strikeout rate of 31.6%.

Herman did very well at the Complex League and did solid at A-Ball Bradenton. But once he made it to High-A, he struggled mightily. He posted a -14 wRC+ in 54 plate appearances. He struck out in 26 of those trips to the plate, resulting in his high strikeout rate. Between the FCL and Bradenton, he had a strikeout rate of 28.3%. Still not great, but also under 30%.

Herman is projected to have above-average raw and game power, as well as a solid glove and strong arm. But his hit tool and speed project as just 40-grade weapons. Herman just turned 22 at the very end of September. He’s still young and Greensboro and Altoona will be the real test for the outfield slugger. If he can hit in the upper minors, he might be a potential future outfielder for the Bucs.