Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Trent Stevenson has retired, and has been placed on the “Voluntary Retirement” list by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Stevenson was drafted in the seventh round of the 2009 draft, and was given a $350,000 bonus to break his commitment to the University of Arizona.
Stevenson had struggled the last two years in pro ball. Last year he started out in West Virginia, and posted a 6.93 ERA in 49.1 innings, with a 4.6 K/9 and a 2.4 BB/9 ratio, mostly working out of the bullpen. He was demoted to State College, where he worked out of the rotation, putting up a 5.80 ERA in 35.2 innings, with a 3.0 K/9 and an 0.8 BB/9 ratio.
This year Stevenson returned to West Virginia. He combined to give up a 9.26 ERA in 11.2 innings, with a 9:2 K/BB ratio. The bulk of the damage came in his third and fourth appearances, where he combined to give up ten earned runs on 12 hits in 3.2 innings.
Stevenson had a nice slider, which had sharp break and was used to get ground balls. The pitch was above average at times, but lacked consistency. When it was on, Stevenson’s game was on. When it was off, he struggled. That’s partly because Stevenson’s other pitches lagged behind. His fastball mostly worked in the upper 80s, and there was hope that his projectable 6′ 6″, 175 pound frame and easy throwing motion would allow him to add velocity going forward.
Stevenson was part of the group of prep pitchers taken in the 2009 draft class. Of all the over-slot bonuses, Stevenson was fifth behind Zack Von Rosenberg, Colton Cain, Zack Dodson, and college pitcher Jeff Inman. If Stevenson does eventually return to baseball, the Pirates would still hold his rights.
May 6, 2012 at 11:15 am
Boy we sure know how to pick them.
May 6, 2012 at 12:01 pm
Yeah, no other team in baseball has ever had this sort of thing happen.
May 6, 2012 at 12:36 pm
Sorry to hear this news, but it is always a risk taking HS pitchers. This is why you have to draft LOTS of them. Hopefully, Trent saved his bonus….it’ll help him with his ‘life’s work’.
May 6, 2012 at 12:43 pm
Maybe he can become a goverment worker and make a lot of real easy money.
May 6, 2012 at 1:58 pm
I hoping you’re trying to be funny.
May 6, 2012 at 4:57 pm
It was said tongue in cheek but if you have a problem ..tough.
May 6, 2012 at 5:41 pm
Barry…gotta agree with piratemike here. I have NO idea how those Navy sailors get their parts. I’m surprised that they haven’t sunk into the ocean by now.
Mike….what do you do for a living that is soooooooo tough?
May 6, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Mike – They don’t give you 350k bonuses when you join the gov’t. But yeah, maybe after 30 years of service he could make some decent money.
May 6, 2012 at 5:11 pm
See above reply.
May 6, 2012 at 5:44 pm
MDPens….I go into work everyday and just sit there and surf the net. None of us work for a living. And those folks in Washington….they REALLY make the big bucks for doing nothing.
You would think that all those Navy officers who are our division heads would get upset at us for playing solitaire all day, but they don’t.
May 7, 2012 at 1:59 am
Goverement worker = Pararsite
May 7, 2012 at 6:08 am
Soldier, Salior, Airmen = Government worker = Parasite ?
May 7, 2012 at 7:09 am
I think PirateMike is a troll. Nobody is that naive or dumb. Or maybe he is….doesn’t even know how to SPELL Government OR Parasite.
May 7, 2012 at 9:18 pm
So glad we drafted Sanchez at slot instead of the best player available so we AFFORD these HS arms.