Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Profile: Part 4

We wrap up our draft profiles series by taking a look at who the Pittsburgh Pirates may be able to pick from with their fourth and fifth picks.

 

Note: The draft process is continuously evolving. Players once thought to be in the Pirates reach like Alex Kirilloff and T.J. Zeuch may be picked before the Pirates ever have the chance, while players once thought to be picked earlier like Taylor Trammell are now expected to be picked right around the Pirates draft. The players listed could move up out of the Pirates range or fall to where they would be an overdraft in just the days remaining before the draft.

Third Round – 105th Overall:

Matthias Dietz – RHP, John A. Logan III. Community College (JUCO)

One of the top junior college pitchers in the country this spring, Dietz sports a fastball that sits 91-94 and can reach the upper-90s. He has a slider that has shown flashes of becoming a plus-pitch, as well.  He has also continued to develop a changeup, the tried and true defining pitch of any and every starting pitcher to go through the Pirates’ minor league system. Some scouts question whether Dietz will be able to remain a starter at the major league level, unless his command improves over the next couple years. If he can solve that issue, he could be an effective innings-eater at the back of a major league rotation with a consistently high strikeout rate, or Dietz could be an effective reliever with a three-pitch repertoire.

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Ray Gaither – RHP, Coppell High School (TX)

In an ideal world, Gaither would be rated as the top-50 prospect he is, but lacking rave reviews for a delivery with an awkward leg kick, Gaither could be a steal for the Pirates in the third round. The Texas high school standout ranked near the top of the national rankings, while performing at the highest level of Texas high school baseball. He lacks the heat on his fastball of other prep pitchers, but he has more life to his pitches than many pitchers in the draft. He has a curveball that will likely be a plus pitch and a slider and changeup that will each be at least average. Gaither deserves a chance to start at the lower levels, but he could become an elite reliever at the major league level.

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Mason Thompson – RHP, Round Rock High School (TX)

What’s better than one pitcher of the caliber of Tyler Glasnow? You guessed it, two pitchers of the caliber of Tyler Glasnow. If you can get past the young right-hander undergoing Tommy John surgery as a junior in high school, that’s exactly what the team that drafts him may get. Thompson missed almost all of his senior season recovering from the injury, but scouts who have seen him throw bullpen sessions say he looks as good as ever. The 6’7” pitcher throws on a downward plane with control equal to or surpassing Glasnow’s at the same age. He features a fastball that could reach triple digits once he adds some muscle, as well as a curveball that could be a plus-pitch, despite getting slurvy at times. Unlike Glasnow, Thompson isn’t afraid of throwing a solid changeup. Easily projectable as a top-of-the rotation starter, Thompson is worth the risk his injury history brings.

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Keegan Akin – LHP, Western Michigan University

This would have been the spot for Dalton Feeney, but the North Dakota high schooler is almost certainly going to be heading to the University of Missouri to likely become a first round pick in 2019, if he can avoid any more Tommy John scares. Instead, I round out the pick selections with yet another pitcher in Keegan Akin. The Western Michigan product has a fastball that maintains velocity late into starts to accompany at least average pitches with his slider and changeup. Akin’s ability to control the strike zone and get batters out by way of the strikeout will keep him in a starting role. It doesn’t hurt his profile that he is a left-handed pitcher with three solid pitches already.

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Other notables: Nick Banks – OF, Texas A&M University, Nick Quintana – 2B, Arbor View High School (NV)

Click here to check out my recommendations for the Pirates fifth pick at 135th overall.