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Pirates Release Tyler Sample

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According to Matt Eddy from Baseball America, the Pittsburgh Pirates have released right-handed pitcher Tyler Sample. He was a minor league rule 5 draft pick in December of 2013, taken from the Kansas City Royals. The Pirates re-signed him this off-season after he hit minor league free agency. Sample pitched for Bradenton and Altoona last year, putting up high strikeout and walk numbers, with the latter plaguing him during his entire minor league career.

This year, Sample pitched briefly for Altoona and the numbers were very poor, giving up seven runs in 8.1 innings, with 11 walks. At 6’7″, with a mid-90’s fastball, he has always had that potential tag since being drafted out of high school in the third round of the 2003 draft. Some team will likely take a chance on him, though he may have to take the John Holdzkom/independent ball route to get back to affiliated ball.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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