The MLB season ended tonight, with the Pirates missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012 (although that was known well before tonight). We’ve got a lot of recaps to come in the weeks ahead, looking at the overall season, a breakdown of each position in the short and long-term, and of course, our recaps of each minor league team.
Of course, it’s only the MLB season that is ending. We’ve still got plenty of baseball to cover this off-season. This week is the last week of the Fall Instructional League, and John Dreker and I will have live reports from Bradenton. Next week will see the Arizona Fall League starting up, and we will have daily updates, along with live reports from Arizona later in the season. And that doesn’t include the winter leagues, mini camps, and all of the other off-season events. In short, while we’re starting to wrap up the 2016 season coverage, our coverage of the team never really stops.
Before we got to the recaps this week, I wanted to go over a few notes of smaller things that were finalized at the end of the year.
**First of all, the only bright side of the Pirates missing the playoffs and having a down year is that they get a higher draft spot next year. They will be picking 13th overall, after coming into the final day with the chance to finish anywhere between 12th and 14th. There’s not much of a difference in bonus pool value between these picks. The 2017 pools aren’t announced, but the difference between 12th and 13th last year was about $100,000. Obviously, the big value is that you get the first crack at the best players the higher you pick.
The Pirates will have a better bonus pool next year, compared to this year. Their pick last year was about $800,000 less than the 13th overall pick. They will also have an extra pick as compensation for not signing Nick Lodolo. If the draft system stays the same during the next CBA, they will be in good position to add a few extra high upside over-slot guys. Now watch MLB change the system with the Pirates finally getting back to having a high pick.
**Josh Bell finished two at-bats shy of losing prospect status and rookie eligibility. This means he will be in our 2017 Prospect Guide, and will also be eligible for the rookie of the year award in 2017. This year, Bell hit for a .273/.368/.406 line in 152 plate appearances, with a 13.8% walk rate and a 12.5% strikeout rate. Yeah, he walked more than he struck out as a rookie in the majors.
The 2016 race was no contest, as Corey Seager will most likely get the award in the NL with his 7.6 WAR and .309/.357/.514 line. But out of 29 NL rookie hitters with 150+ plate appearances, Bell finished 10th in wOBA and 8th in wRC+. Then you think about what he can do in a full season, after getting a taste of the league already, and handling it pretty well the first time around, and it could be easy to imagine him as the favorite for the 2017 NL Rookie of the Year award.
**The Pirates made a small move this weekend, placing Starling Marte on the 15-day disabled list. It’s a weird move, because they didn’t have to put him on the DL with rosters expanded. I feel like there is some small advantage here due to an unknown technicality in the rule book. Jon Morosi has a theory that it relates to the World Baseball Classic next year.
Interesting move for Pirates with Starling Marte: It has been harder for players to participate in WBC if they end previous year on DL. https://t.co/Jb3k1tTpLM
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 3, 2016
I have a hard time believing that this is why he was placed on the disabled list, but there are also no other obvious reasons. He’s going to have to come off the disabled list after the season, as will everyone else on the 15-day and 60-day DL. So it just seemed like an unnecessary move to add him this weekend, which means there’s probably some small reason for making that move.
**Instruct Report: Getting a Look at the Younger Pirates Pitching Prospects. The latest report from instructs, with Wilbur Miller getting a look at some younger pitching prospects.
**High-Priced International Signing Adjusts to First Season of Pro Ball. John Dreker takes a look at the path a top international signing takes in the early stages of pro ball, discussing the transition with Larry Alcime Jr.
**Podcast: Breaking Down the Pirates’ Issues During the 2016 Season. Sean McCool talks with Cory Giger about the issues during the 2016 season.
**Pirates Place Three Among South Atlantic League’s Top 20 Prospects. Mitch Keller gets the first of what will probably be a lot of off-season recognition, getting a high ranking here.
**Ivan Nova Discusses His Desire to Stay With the Pirates After Final 2016 Start. Alan Saunders wrote about Ivan Nova’s desire to stick around in Pittsburgh after his final start.
**Alen Hanson Is Adjusting to Limited Time in September. Ed Giles talked with Alen Hanson about how he dealt with limited playing time in September.
