Pittsburgh Pirates Draft: Five Players to Watch During Day Two

RHP Brock Porter

Brock Porter is considered a top 15 talent by most sources. FanGraphs ranked him at no. 14, MLB Pipeline put him at no. 11, and Prospects Live pinned him at no. 9. Porter is one of the best high school arms in this year’s draft and overall considered one of the best pitchers available.

Porter put up some crazy numbers with St. Mary’s Prep. In just 58 innings, Porter had a sub-0.50 ERA, clocking in at 0.41 (yes, you read that correctly) while striking out 115 batters. Of the 174 outs Porter made, 66.1% of them were on strikeouts. Just to show how crazy that is, when Jacob deGrom posted a 13.8 K/9 ratio, he only made 51% of outs via strikeouts.

Porter has a big fastball, one that already averages out at 94-97 MPH and has hit triple digits before as well (remember, this is a 19 year old high schooler). Not only does he throw hard, but he does it with a low-effort delivery. Plus it helps that he has some arm-side movement. He also throws a curveball and slider. Between the two breaking offerings, the slider is the better one and can hit the upper-80s. When he wants, he can take a significant amount off and toss an upper-70s curveball, But his second best pitch in his four-pitch arsenal is his changeup. It comes in with mid-80s velocity and serious horizontal movement. FanGraphs likes it even more than his big fastball.

Porter is a mechanical darling. He repeats his delivery and can generate velocity with little effort. Porter does have a commitment to Clemson, but this wouldn’t be the first time the Pittsburgh Pirates stole a big Clemson commit who fell to them during the second day of the draft because of signability questions.

Catcher Cade Hunter

The best prospect still available on FanGraphs’ list is Virginia Tech backstop Cade Hunter. VT had many top prospects in this year’s draft. Along with Hunter, outfielder Gavin Cross was taken 9th overall by the Kansas City Royals and infielder Tanner Schobel was taken with the 68th pick by the Minnesota Twins. Day two could see the third player taken from Virginia Tech be selected in this year’s MLB Draft.

Hunter brings a lot of power to the plate. He put up some impressive exit velos with VT during this year. He lifts the ball well and blasted 17 homers in 58 games/258 plate appearances. All told, he batted .330/.440/.637. He was also a sneaky runner, swiping 11 bags in 12 attempts. Although he isn’t a speed demon, he’s quite fast for a catcher.

However, there are some questions about strikeouts with Hunter. He struck out at a 22.9% rate during the season. Granted, he did walk 12.4% of the time as well, but the strikeouts are slightly concerning. On the plus side, FanGraphs loves his fielding. They describe him as “twitchy and athletic” which helps him receive well.

Hunter drew comparisons to LA Dodger backstop Will Smith. That’s a pretty good comparison given that Smith is one of baseball’s best backstops. Hunter does come with some risk, but is a potential mid-to-late Day two kind of guy to watch. He’d give the Pittsburgh Pirates yet another talented backstop in the system if they were to select him.

RHP Jonathan Cannon

Jonathan Cannon is the best college arm still on MLB Pipeline’s board. Cannon ranks as the 60th best prospect in the draft per Pipeline, and comes in as FanGraphs’ 67th best draft prospect. If the Pirates were to take him in Day 2, he would be their third college right-hander taken in this year’s draft for the Bucs.

Cannon didn’t put up eye-popping numbers in college. The University of Georgia product had 4.02 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate, and 1.10 HR/9 in 78.1 innings, but there’s more to this right-hander than what those numbers tell you. Cannon only walked 3.7% of batters faced this year while being the owner of a 1.00 WHIP. He has upper-tier command and showed it off this season.

Cannon sat in the low-to-mid-90s this year with his fastball, averaging out at 92-96 MPH. He also throws a slider, which is improving, and a change-up. But the real attraction here, aside from his command, is his cutter. He throws this offering in the upper-80s and misses a fair amount of bats with it. It’s arguably his best pitch.

There’s still a decent amount of projectability here. Cannon stands at a towering 6’6″ despite turning 22 tomorrow. He’s definitely an arm to watch in Day 2 depending on what the Pirates do. He could be another under slot guy if the Pittsburgh Pirates decide to go that route and save for another pick today.

C/1B Malcolm Moore

Malcolm Moore is the best position player left on MLB Pipeline’s list and the second best position player currently undrafted per FanGraphs. The McClatchy High School product brings big offensive upside, but his long term defensive home is still a bit murky.

Moore is an advanced bat who generates plus power from his 6’2″, 210 frame. The lefty hitting backstop has a good feel at the plate per FanGraphs, so not only does he make loud contact, but he makes a decent bit of contact. He can get around on the inside heat and turn the other way as well.

The bat isn’t the question when it comes to Moore, though. It’s about his long-term defensive home. Moore is a backstop, but doesn’t grade out as a good one. Sure, he’s only 18 years old, but his mature frame at that age doesn’t project well behind the dish. There’s plenty of time between now and when he’s 21-22 years old, but he needs to make some decent strides with his defensive work and arm strength to remain there long term. One of the few silver linings that FanGraphs pointed out is that he’s a solid blocker.

Moore’s bat will likely be his meal ticket here. He is committed to Stanford, so there’s a possibility there are some signability questions lurking with him. Either way, he’s still one of the best position players left as we kick off day two of the draft.

RHP Brandon Sproat

Brandon Sproat was teammates with second-rounder Pirate draft pick Hunter Barco. Sproat brings a lot of talent to the table, but also a decent bit of relief risk. However, there’s no doubting that Sproat has a ton of talent and should attract teams with it.

Sproat pitched 89.2 innings with Florida this year, which was significantly more than he has ever pitched before. He did have a solid 3.41 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and allowed just five long balls. However, he had just a 21.5% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate.

If you knew how hard Sproat throws, you’d guess that he’d have a strikeout rate approaching or above 30%. Sproat averages out at 97 MPH but regularly hits 100 MPH. Although this was the first time Sproat worked as a starter with Florida, he maintained velocity. Both his change-up and slider project to be above average. He does throw a curveball, but it’s a pitch that needs more refining.

Sproat comes with some command questions, but FanGraphs believes that those could be remedied with some mechanical clean-up. He has a long arm delivery, which causes some inconsistency in his wind-up/delivery. A shorter arm path and delivery could help him refine his wind-up, add some consistency to his motion, and improve his control in the process.

Sproat is a high-ceiling/low-floor kind of pitcher. You could easily get a starter with an upper-90s fastball, two plus secondary offerings, and an average curveball. But he could be a two-pitch reliever as well (granted, a really good one at that). The 21-year-old will surely get some attention during Day 2.