Pittsburgh Pirates Draft: Five Players to Watch During Day Two

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.