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First Mock Draft from Keith Law has Pirates Taking a Prep Pitcher

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On the same day Jim Callis posted a new mock draft for MLB Pipeline, Keith Law posted his first mock draft. He has the Pittsburgh Pirates going for prep pitcher Trevor Rogers, a lefty out of Carlsbad, New Mexico.

This is a player we haven’t mentioned here yet. Rogers is very old for a high school player, turning 20 in November. For comparison, a number of prep players will still be 17 on draft day. He has a 6’6″ frame, with plenty of room to fill out at 185 pounds right now. Rogers has rare velocity from a lefty, touching mid-90s, although he works mostly in the low-90s as a starter. He has long arms, deception in his delivery and command of his fastball, which helps it play up. There could be even more velocity in there as he fills out. His slider has potential to be a consistent swing-and-miss pitch, while the changeup needs work.

While Law says that he has the current stuff to be successful, MLB Pipeline believes he has some work to do with his secondary pitches. Prep Baseball Report called him an athletic player with a repeatable delivery and clean mechanics. Rogers is rated 23rd by MLB Pipeline and 28th by Baseball America.

As you can see from the video posted by Baseball America, there seems to be a lot of potential.

For comparison sake between the mock drafts, Law has Florida RHP Alex Faedo going 18th to the Detroit Tigers. Jim Callis had Faedo going to the Pirates in his draft. I could see the Tigers taking him if he slipped that far, but that might be too low for a workhorse college starter with control over a nice three-pitch mix. Some rated Faedo in the top 1-4 spots early this season, so that would be quite a drop for someone who has put up strong starts all season.

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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