Mike Gretler

MIKE GRETLER, THIRD BASEMAN
Born: January 1, 1996
Height: 6′ 2″
Weight: 180
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Drafted: 10th Round, 294th Overall, 2018
How Acquired: Draft
College: Oregon State University
Agent: N/A

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

Gretler was drafted out of high school by the Boston Red Sox. He didn’t sign and went to Oregon State, where he put up some decent numbers in 2017-18, although without great power.  After playing only part-time in 2015-16, he hit 301/364/468 as a junior and batted 305/379/473 as a senior.  The Pirates selected Gretler in the 39th round in 2017, but he returned to Oregon State for his senior year.  They picked him again in 2018, this time in the tenth round, possibly in order to save slot money.  He couldn’t sign for a while because Oregon State was in (and won) the college world series, but he signed quickly afterward for well below the $140,800 slot value.  The Pirates announced him as a third baseman, but he did catch a little in college.

2018
A-:  274/372/396, 164 AB, 10 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 20 BB, 38 K, 3-4 SB

Gretler was the primary third baseman for Morgantown.  He played reasonably well there and also started two games at short and two behind the plate.  His hitting was solid, with a willingness to take a walk and some gap power.  Whether he has enough power to stay at third going forward is hard to say, but the New York-Penn League as a whole slugged only .346, so his power production wasn’t bad relative to the league.

2019
A:  214/299/304, 276 AB, 17 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 32 BB, 81 K, 3-3 SB
A+:  189/218/208, 53 AB, 1 2B, 2 BB, 13 K

The Pirates sent Gretler initially to Bradenton in 2019, where he served as a utility infielder until early May, when they demoted him to Greensboro.  At the latter stop, he ended up more or less as the regular at third after the Pirates traded Patrick Dorrian.  He also saw some time at first and caught one game while with Bradenton.  He struggled to hit, despite the fact that Greensboro plays in a hitter’s park in a league that shouldn’t be a big challenge for a college player drafted the previous year.

Gretler has settled in quickly as an organizational player.

CONTRACT INFORMATION
2020: Minor league contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: $50,000
MiLB Debut:
MLB Debut:
MiLB FA Eligible: 2024
MLB FA Eligible:
Rule 5 Eligible: 2021
Added to 40-Man:
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
June 7, 2014: Drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 39th round, 1184th overall pick.
June 14, 2017:
Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 39th round, 1168th overall pick.
June 5, 2018: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 10th round, 294th overall pick; signed on July 2.