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Morning Report: The Same Name Keeps Popping Up in Mock Drafts for the Pirates

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On Saturday morning, D1 Baseball put out their second mock draft. They had a name for the Pittsburgh Pirates that everyone should be familiar with at this point. Texas prep right-hander Shane Baz went in the 12th spot. The 6’3″, flame-thrower has been mentioned numerous times for the Pirates in mock drafts and he has ranked 12th overall for people throughout the year. The Pirates love 6’3″, right-handed pitchers, so that part makes sense. The only high school pitcher they have drafted in the first round recently was Jameson Taillon, and that was a bit of a different case, as he was ranked #2 or #3 overall for most of the year leading up to the draft.

Baz is more advanced than your average high school pitcher. He has touched 100 MPH this spring and controls five pitches that are all at least average, including a slider that should be a second plus pitch. While there is some room for projection, he’s not going to be adding velocity like some pitchers we have seen in the past, though he could add durability, holding his velocity deep into games.

D1 also mentioned that the Pirates are high on Missouri State third baseman Jake Burger, who has been called the best power bat in the draft. I agree with what they say in the write-up, noting that the Pirates like Burger, but would have a hard time passing up on Baz if he is still available. Most people believe he will be available obviously, because he keeps going to the Pirates in mock drafts.

I’ve included links to all of the past mock drafts and overall rankings just to show how often Baz has been mentioned in the 12th spot compared to everyone else. I highlighted each time Baz was mentioned so it stands out. The dates are when we covered the articles, which may differ by 1-2 days from when they were published by the source. Asterisks denote rankings, while the rest are all mock drafts.

6/10: D1 Baseball – Shane Baz

6/9: MLB Pipeline – Shane Baz

6/9: Baseball America – Nick Pratto

6/7: Keith Law* – Pavin Smith

6/7: Fangraphs – Shane Baz

6/6: MLB Pipeline* – Shane Baz

6/6: BA* – Evan White

6/1: Pipeline – Trevor Rogers

6/1: D1/Prep Baseball* – Jeren Kendall

5/30: Law – JB Bukauskas

5/27: BA – Evan White

5/26: Pipeline – Shane Baz

5/25: BA* – Adam Haseley

5/22: D1 – Jake Burger

5/20: Pipeline – Jeren Kendall

5/19: BA – Keston Hiura

5/13: Law – Trevor Rogers

5/13: Pipeline – Alex Faedo

5/6: BA* – Shane Baz

5/4: Pipeline – Nick Pratto (this was actually two mocks from Pipeline, both going with Pratto)

4/29: Pipeline* – Shane Baz

4/22: BA – Adam Haseley

I stopped at April 22nd due to how early it was in the season and it was also the first time we mentioned Baz, as he went 14th overall in that mock draft. The link includes a profile of him, as well as the best video I could find at the time. That list above also covers the last 50 days. That is a good time frame for draft rankings, which can change a lot over a short period of time. Baz has been one constant during that time, never moving more than a few spots due to his consistency and a slight uptick in velocity.

The interesting thing about those mocks, and you’ll find out more in our tiered ranking article tomorrow, is that they all seem like possibilities for the Pirates except Alex Faedo. That one would surprise me because his performance hasn’t lived up to the hype, he’s never been connected to the Pirates and he seems to be dropping in the rankings more than anyone else. Some of these players would have to drop to get to the Pirates, but I don’t see any that I can guarantee won’t drop. There seems to be a group of six players who everyone thinks will be off the board first, then 4-5 guys who are usually in the top ten. Once you hit that 11th spot though, then it’s a large group of possibilities over the middle of the first round.

Draft starts tomorrow night, so we will soon find out.

*The Pirates did a number on our Prospect Status updates. Trevor Williams graduates, Alen Hanson handed to the White Sox, Gift Ngoepe and Johnny Barbato sent down. The only one close now is Jose Osuna, although Elias Diaz could put a big dent in his status depending on how long it takes both Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart to return. So the updates will be quick on Sundays for a little bit until Osuna starts getting closer to the finish line.

Here are the players with prospect status currently on the Pirates. Osuna batted once yesterday, giving him 95 at-bats, which means 36 more and he isn’t in our top 50 prospects for an eighth straight season. Elias Diaz went 3-for-3 to give him 30 at-bats this year and 36 total. Max Moroff remained at 18 career at-bats and Jacob Stallings has 22 at-bats. Edgar Santana joins the updates with his first appearance/inning. My guess would be Osuna and Santana are the only ones to lose their status this year, though I reserve the right to change my mind next Sunday on Diaz if Cervelli is still out.

PLAYOFF PUSH

Bradenton trails in their division by 1.5 games with eight games remaining in the first half. They do not play first place Palm Beach again during the first half.

West Virginia trails their division leader by 6.5 games, with eight games left in the first half. They are in fifth place and could be eliminated today.

PIRATES GAME GRAPH


Source: FanGraphs

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Miami Marlins by a 7-6 score on Saturday evening. The Pirates will send Ivan Nova to the mound this afternoon for his 13th start. Since winning the NL Pitcher of the Month award in April, Nova has a 4.21 ERA in seven starts. He threw nine shutout innings against the Marlins during his last start in April. The Marlins will counter with former Pirate Jeff Locke, who has made just two starts this season.

In the minors, Tyler Eppler should do well today since he isn’t facing Toledo. Known as a control pitcher, Eppler has walked 17 batters this season, with 14 of those walks coming against Toledo. He’s also at home today, which should help. Eppler has a 2.34 home ERA and a 4.76 road ERA. Pedro Vasquez ranks fourth in the Florida State League with a 1.94 ERA and his 1.08 WHIP is the ninth best in the league. James Marvel threw five shutout innings in his last outing and gave up just one run in each of his previous two games. DSL Pirates have off today.

MLB: Pittsburgh (27-35) vs Marlins (27-34) 1:35 PM
Probable starter: Ivan Nova (3.04 ERA, 7:44 BB/SO, 83.0 IP)

AAA: Indianapolis (32-29) vs Columbus (30-31) 1:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Tyler Eppler (3.30 ERA, 17:41 BB/SO, 57.1 IP)

AA: Altoona (32-28) vs Richmond (27-34) 6:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Tanner Anderson (4.37 ERA, 17:36 BB/SO, 55.2 IP)

High-A: Bradenton (35-24) @ Dunedin (30-31) 5:00 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Pedro Vasquez (1.94 ERA, 11:44 BB/SO, 60.1 IP)

Low-A: West Virginia (28-30) vs Greensboro (33-27) 2:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: James Marvel (3.33 ERA, 11:43 BB/SO, 46.0 IP)

DSL: Pirates (4-3) vs Rangers1 (5-2) 10:30 AM 6/12 (season preview)

HIGHLIGHTS

Here is Kevin Kramer’s sixth home run of the season.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

6/10: Dovydas Neverauskas and Tyler Glasnow optioned to Indianapolis. A.J. Schugel and Edgar Santana promoted to Pittsburgh.

6/10: Pat Light designated for assignment.

6/10: Jason Stoffel assigned to Indianapolis. Placed on disabled list.

6/8: Brandon Waddell placed on disabled list.

6/8: Brandon Cumpton assigned to Bradenton.

6/8: Pirates recall Dovydas Neverauskas. Johnny Barbato optioned to Indianapolis.

6/7: Francisco Cervelli placed on disabled list. Jacob Stallings added to Pirates.

6/7: Tomas Morales assigned to Indianapolis. Zane Chavez activated from Altoona disabled list.

6/5: Casey Sadler promoted to Indianapolis. Dan Runzler placed on disabled list.

6/4: Cole  Tucker placed on disabled list. Daniel Arribas added to Bradenton roster.

6/2: Pirates designate Alen Hanson for assignment. Recall Max Moroff and Phil Gosselin.

6/2: Adrian Valerio placed on disabled list. Andrew Walker added to West Virginia.

6/2: Jameson Taillon assigned to Indianapolis on rehab.

6/1: Gift Ngoepe optioned to Indianapolis

6/1: Brett McKinney assigned to Indianapolis

THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY

Two former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, both played significant roles with the team. Starting with second baseman Dave Cash, who played for the Pirates from 1969 until 1973. The Pirates signed him as a fifth round draft pick out of high school in 1966 and it didn’t take long for him to make it to the big leagues. During the championship season of 1971, he played 123 games, which was his high while with Pittsburgh. Cash hit .289 during the regular season, then had a .421 average during the NLCS. He struggled during the World Series, going 4-for-30, but the Pirates won it in seven games over the Orioles. After the 1973 season, he was traded to the Phillies for pitcher Ken Brett. Cash ended up making the All-Star team three straight years in Philadelphia.

Also born on this date was outfielder Frank Thomas, who played for the Pirates from 1951 until 1958. He hit .275 with the Pirates, belting 163 homers and driving in 562 runs in 925 games. His home run total ranks eighth in team history. Thomas was part of a big trade that helped the Pirates win the 1960 World Series. In 1959, he was dealt to the Reds in a trade that brought back Smoky Burgess, Don Hoak and Harvey Haddix. During the 1958 season, he finished fourth in the MVP voting and made his third All-Star team.

A late addition to the former players born on this date, infielder Brock Holt, who played for the 2012 Pirates before being sent to the Red Sox in the Joel Hanrahan/Mark Melancon deal. He isn’t included in the link above, which was written before he made the majors, but I’m pretty sure you know who he is anyway. He made the All-Star team as a utility player in 2015, but a concussion in 2016 has sidetracked his career.

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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