Robert Stock

ROBERT STOCK, RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
Born: November 21, 1989
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 200
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Drafted: 2nd round, 67th overall, 2009 (Cardinals)
How Acquired: Contract purchased (from independent league team)
College: University of Southern California
Agent: N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES
Stock has an interesting background.  He skipped his senior year in high school to attend USC, where he was a catcher and sometimes closer.  He became eligible to be drafted as a 19-year-old junior.  As a left-handed hitting catcher with power and good catch-and-throw skills, he appeared to be a strong prospect, but his performance dropped off sharply as the 2009 draft neared.  St. Louis still drafted him as a catcher, but after three years he moved to the mound.  At the time of the draft, he threw in the upper-80s to low-90s, reaching 95, with a very good change and a low-80s breaking ball.  The Cardinals eventually released him.  The Pirates purchased his contract from an independent league team.

2009
R+:  322/386/550, 149 AB, 9 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 11 BB, 28 K, 0-1 SB
A:  095/208/095, 21 AB, 2 BB, 5 K

Stock had a strong debut as a 19-year-old in advanced rookie ball.  Baseball America ranked him 10th in the Cardinals’ farm system after the season.

2010
A:  213/300/277, 310 AB, 17 2B, 1 HR, 39 BB, 56 K, 2-4 SB

Apart from good plate discipline, Stock had a rough season in low A.

2011
A:  176/241/275, 51 AB, 2 2B, 1 HR, 5 BB, 6 K, 1-1 SB
A+:  262/339/349, 146 AB, 8 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 18 BB, 17 K, 0-1 SB

The Cardinals sent Stock back to low A and he struggled there, but he did better after a promotion to high A.

2012
A:  5-2-0, 4.46 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 71.0 IP, 6.1 BB/9, 8.4 K/9

Stock moved to the mound, pitching in relief except for two starts.  He had a decent K rate but otherwise just held his own in low A.

2013
A:  0-1-4, 2.30 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 15.2 IP, 5.7 BB/9, 8.6 K/9
A+:  2-0-0, 4.37 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 22.2 IP, 6.4 BB/9, 10.7 K/9

The Cardinals sent Stock back to low A and he got better results, although still with control problems.  After a July promotion to high A, he had a high K rate but also had more trouble with walks.

2014
A:  2-3-0, 5.18 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 40.0 IP, 4.7 BB/9, 6.8 K/9
AA:  0-0-1, 2.31 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 23.1 IP, 9.6 BB/9, 5.0 K/9

Stock again split his time between low and high A and continued having control problems.  St. Louis released him after the season.

2015
R:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9, 6.0 K/9
A+:  0-0-1, 7.00 ERA, 2.22 WHIP, 9.0 IP, 8.0 BB/9, 4.0 K/9
AA:  0-0-0, 14.54 ERA, 2.77 WHIP, 4.1 IP, 20.8 BB/9, 8.3 K/9

Houston signed Stock at the beginning of March 2015, but released him at the end of the month.  He then became the first pick in the Frontier League draft, selected by the Normal CornBelters.  Before he ever played for them, however, the Pirates purchased his contract.  He made seven appearances at Bradenton, struggling to throw strikes.  The Pirates nevertheless assigned him to Altoona in time for him to get in three late-season games.  That turned out to be a disaster due to the control problems.

Stock was an interesting experiment, although there wasn’t a lot of time for the Pirates to work with him.  He’ll be a free agent after the season.
CONTRACT INFORMATION
2015: Major league minimum
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: $525,000
MiLB Debut: 2009
MLB Debut: N/A
MiLB FA Eligible: 2015
MLB FA Eligible: N/A
Rule 5 Eligible: Eligible
Added to 40-Man: 9/1/2014
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
June 10, 2009: Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2nd round, 67th overall pick; signed on June 15.
December 20, 2014: Released by the St. Louis Cardinals.
March 9, 2015: Signed as a minor league free agent by the Houston Astros.
March 31, 2015: Released by the Houston Astros.
May 1, 2015: Contract purchased from independent league team by the Pittsburgh Pirates.