My goal is to get a better idea of the big picture as to how the systems compare in terms of draft results, as well as how a good or bad draft class affects a system, the overall impact of the draft on the baseball talent pool and the circuitous ways in which draft picks are used to bolster a system for which they may never even play. This project is just a first step. I intend to expand on this information over time (including a later revisit of the 2018 class and the addition of the 2019 class next offseason) and I will share my findings as I do so.
NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Historical Draft Results from 1998 through 2017 (TO DATE)
Drafted 937 | Signed 553 | Pitchers Signed 287 | Position Players Signed 266
Total WAR 297.9
Total Players to MLB 86
Note: The following players are listed at the position at which they were originally drafted.
1998 | 5 to MLB | WAR 10.2 | High WAR 7.0, LHP Joe Beimel, 18th rd
1999 | 3 to MLB | WAR 8.5 | High WAR 8.8, C Ryan Doumit, 2nd rd
2000 | 5 to MLB | WAR 68.1 | High WAR 35.6, 3B Jose Bautista, 20th rd
2001 | 8 to MLB | WAR 28.3 | High WAR 12.3, LHP Zach Duke, 20th rd
2002 | 6 to MLB | WAR 10.8 | High WAR 6.8, OF Nyjer Morgan, 33rd rd
2003 | 6 to MLB | WAR 17.4 | High WAR 11.9, LHP Paul Maholm, 1st rd
2004 | 3 to MLB | WAR 19.8 | High WAR 20.5, C Neil Walker, 1st rd
2005 | 3 to MLB | WAR 51.3 | High WAR 42.0, OF Andrew McCutchen, 1st rd
2006 | 6 to MLB | WAR 7.6 | High WAR 8.2, RHP Jared Hughes, 4th rd
2007 | 4 to MLB | WAR 12.4 | High WAR 11.7, LHP Tony Watson, 9th rd
2008 | 6 to MLB | WAR 22.2 | High WAR 7.5, SS Jordy Mercer, 3rd rd
2009 | 5 to MLB | WAR 5.7 | High WAR 6.6, 2B Brock Holt, 9th rd
2010 | 4 to MLB | WAR 7.1 | High WAR 7.8, RHP Jameson Taillon, 1st rd
2011 | 6 to MLB | WAR 18.8 | High WAR 17.4, RHP Gerrit Cole, 1st rd
2012 | 3 to MLB | WAR 1.1 | High WAR 0.6, SS Max Moroff, 16th rd
2013 | 6 to MLB | WAR 10.3 | High WAR 4.9, SS Adam Frazier, 6th rd
2014 | 2 to MLB | WAR (0.3) | High WAR (0.1), RHP Alex McRae, 10th rd
2015 | 5 to MLB | WAR (1.4) | High WAR 0.3, LHP Daniel Zamora, 40th rd
2016 | 0 to MLB | WAR 0.0 | High WAR N/A
2017 | 0 to MLB | WAR 0.0 | High WAR N/A
The highest WAR to date is that of OF Andrew McCutchen (2005, 1st round, 42.0 WAR), but the high total WAR is from 2000, a draft which featured OF/3B Jose Bautista (35.6 WAR, 20th round), RHP Chris Young (17.3 WAR, 3rd round), OF Nate McLouth (6.4 WAR, 25th round), LHP Sean Burnett (5.8 WAR, 1st round) and RHP Ian Snell (3.0 WAR, 26th round). Bautista was lost to the Orioles in the 2003 Rule 5 Draft, but eventually ended up being traded back to the Pirates (after enduring three more moves in the following few months) in July 2004. Unfortunately, Bautista wasn't All-Star Bautista until he headed to Toronto a few seasons later. Chris Young never played for the Pirates, having been traded to the Expos for RHP Matt Herges in December 2002 (Herges was released in March 2003 without throwing a pitch for the Pirates). McLouth had the most success of the group in a Pirates uniform, earning an All-Star nod and a Gold Glove in the fourth of his five seasons with the Pirates (5.1 WAR in 515 games), but the remaining trio (Bautista, Snell and Burnett) combined for a whopping 1.8 WAR in their limited time with the Bucs. McCutchen, however, definitely earned his keep in nine seasons with the Pirates, appearing in five All-Star games, collecting one Gold Glove and four Silver Sluggers and being named the National League MVP in 2013. McCutchen was traded to the Giants in January 2018 and signed with the Phillies as a free agent in December 2018.
2018 DRAFT
41 Drafted | 33 Signed | 16 Pitchers | 17 Position Players
31 College | 30 Signed | 14 Pitchers | 16 Position Players
0 JC/CC | 0 Signed | 0 Pitchers | 0 Position Players
10 HS/NS | 3 Signed | 2 Pitchers | 1 Position Player
Notable: The Pirates received one additional draft pick for Competitive Balance (Round A), but failed to sign that pick (HS RHP Gunnar Hoglund). They did, however, sign all remaining picks in the first 21 rounds.
PITCHERS
Of the 16 pitchers signed (13 RHP, 3 LHP), all logged at least some playing time. Two players were promoted beyond the Short Season A* level (to Full Season A) and one debuted on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Prospect list for the Pirates.
Top Prospects
RHP Braxton Ashcraft, 2nd round, Robinson HS (TX), Rk
17.2 IP | 5 G / 5 GS | 4.58 ERA | 1.189 WHIP | 5 BB : 12 K
Noteworthy Debut
RHP Logan Stoelke, 9th round, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, A
22.2 IP | 20 G / 0 GS | 1.59 ERA | 0.750 WHIP | 9 BB : 35 K | 7 Saves
In total, the Pirates 2018 Draft pitchers combined for a 4.22 ERA and a 1.348 WHIP over 474 innings as compared to the 3.67 ERA and 1.299 WHIP (average of 376.2 innings per affiliate) compiled by the total 2018 Draft class in 2018.
POSITION PLAYERS
All of the 17 position players signed (2 1B, 2 2B, 3B, 2 SS, 7 OF, 3 C) logged at least some playing time. Five players were promoted beyond the Short Season A* level (three to Full Season A and two to Advanced A). One of the position players debuted on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Prospect list for the Pirates as a Top 10 prospect.
Top Prospects
🔟 OF Travis Swaggerty (L/L), 1st round, University of South Alabama, A
52 G | .239/.322/.383/.705 | 22 BB : 58 K
🔟 Top 10 Prospect
Noteworthy Debut
OF Danny Amaral (R/R), 14th round, UCLA, SSA
58 G | .244/.329/.382/.712 | 23 BB : 46 K | 25 SB : 6 CS
There were several noteworthy debuts by college players at the rookie level as well, but Amaral played at a slightly higher level and led the entire 2018 draft class in stolen bases.
In total, the Pirates 2018 Draft position players combined to hit .255/.354/.389/.743 as compared to .261/.349/.386/.735 batting line compiled by the total 2018 Draft class in 2018.
Rk = Rookie
SSA = Short Season A
A = Full Season A
A+ = Full Season A Advanced.
GENERAL NOTES: Information was obtained from Baseball-Reference and the MLB Draft History site. The occasional discrepancy in historical information was resolved to the best of my ability by delving into the player information available on B-R. On the historical information, the player position in the totals reflects the position at which the player was drafted (and not any subsequent change of position). On the 2018 information, the player position reflects the primary position played in 2018 for all players who were signed and the position at which the player was drafted for those who did not sign. Prospect listings on MLB Pipeline were as of late December and may not reflect any subsequent changes to that site.
PREVIOUSLY
NL EAST
Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals
NL East 2018 Draft Summary
NL CENTRAL
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
COMING NEXT
St. Louis Cardinals
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