Donnie Veal

Stats — Minor League Splits — WTM

Donnie Veal may be the toughest guy in the entire system to get a read on right now. He was an excellent prospect in the Cubs system back in 2007, but bad years in ’07 and ’08 resulted in him being unprotected in the Rule 5 draft after the 2008 season. The Pirates stuck with him through 2009, mostly by creative disabled list stints and rehab assigntments, despite immense struggles at the big league level. Then, he went out to the Arizona Fall League and dominated a league mostly full of hitting prospects, leaving some scouts raving as if the past three years didn’t happen.

As I’m so fond of saying, I think the truth with Veal lies somewhere in the middle. I don’t think he’s got the stuff to become a Major League starter, but I do think his fastball and curveball are good enough to make him into a very good left-handed reliever if he can keep the command he showed out west. That said, I certainly support the Pirates attempts to make him a starter by sending him back to Double or Triple-A. At least we’ll have a better idea of what to make of him when this season ends.

July 2010: Unfortunately, Tommy John surgery means we still don’t know what to make of Veal. He made nine starts with greatly improved control with Indianapolis before his injury and really flashed signs of his former self, but then the rest of the season was washed out with his injury. He’ll be 26 next year so it’s a good bet that he’ll become a reliever once he rehabs his arm, especially with so many arms emerging the level below him.