Pirates = Anthony Rendon
by Savoy on Sep 29, 2010 11:38 AM EDT
Email
Print
From Rotoworld:
The Pirates have clinched the No. 1 pick in next June's First-Year Player Draft.
The Pirates are 56-101 this season while the Mariners are 61-96. They can still tie for the majors' worst record, however the Pirates hold the tiebreaker advantage for the No. 1 pick since they had the worse record last season. Early buzz has Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon as the top overall talent in next year's draft class, though he is currently recovering from a major ankle injury.
So does this seal the fate of Pedro Alvarez as a 3B or was that already a foregone conclusion?
70 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
A lot can happen between now and June
Rendon is the top on my board, but if he’s slowed by the ankle, it’s certainly conceivable that Purke/Cole/Springer could pass him.
As for Alvarez, his future is at 1B (I would say he makes the move by 2012 unless he really shows more range next year).
http://bullpenbanter.com/
Pretty much agree with everything here.
If the draft were held today, I would guess that Rendon is the pick, but there’s a whole ’nother season to be played. And even if Alvarez somehow became a gold glove third baseman, they should take the best player available at the time of the draft.
by Kenneth Arthur on Sep 29, 2010 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Gray isn't in that pitching list for you?
Come check out Bullpen Banter!
Follow Bullpen Banter on Twitter
Follow me on Twitter
Remember: baseball guys... baseball...
No
He constantly gets described as having a max effort delivery and his size is well documented. Seems like it would be a huge gamble to draft him as a starting pitcher. After those four, I’d probably opt for Archie Bradley, Taylor Jungmann or Matt Barnes.
http://bullpenbanter.com/
I personally take...
Gray over Jungman and Barnes. I think he is a tier above Archie right now also. I would split the pitching into three tiers right now.
1st
Matt Purke
Gerrit Cole
2nd
Gray
Jungmann
Barnes
3rd
Everyone else.
ETHAN MARTIN!!!!
Some people are really high on Gray, though
He seems to be a pretty polarizing prospect at this point.
I like baseball.
I write for Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times Fantasy
by Satchel Price on Sep 29, 2010 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions
he has some good things
Good heat, excellent breaking ball, outstanding makeup. The height thing doesn’t even matter to me. I’m much more concerned about the third offering and his command, both of which remain questionable. We’ll see if he can improve on those next year.
Yeah, I mean, he's definitely no better than the third-best pitching prospect in the draft
But I think it’d be reasonable to put him ahead of Jungmann, Bradley and Barnes.
At this point, he’s firmly behind Cole and Purke for me, too, though.
I like baseball.
I write for Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times Fantasy
by Satchel Price on Sep 29, 2010 4:08 PM EDT up reply actions
maybe
Jungmann and Bradley are both pretty awesome. I really like Daniel Norris (the other TN pitcher I was referring to) as well.
My only problem with Gray...
is his delivery. He may get hurt because of it, but if he doesn’t I see no reason he can’t be on the next best little guys on the mound. I LOVE his stuff. If starting doesn’t work out(I doubt it doesn’t) he would make one hell of a relief pitcher.
ETHAN MARTIN!!!!
Some definitely will
His arm is fantastic. I’m just not convinced that he’s a starting pitcher. This is shaping up to be a fantastic pitching class, so not putting him in my top 6-7 pitchers doesn’t mean I dislike him.
http://bullpenbanter.com/
Yeah, it's a pretty unreal class of college pitchers
In most classes, you’d probably see Gray at or near the top of the rankings- like if he was compared to Pomeranz, Harvey, Sale, Ranaudo, Wimmers and McGuire.
I understand the concerns about his delivery, but I can imagine finding some team that didn’t have a big problem with his delivery and saw him as one of the two or three top arms in the class.
I like baseball.
I write for Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times Fantasy
by Satchel Price on Sep 30, 2010 1:02 PM EDT up reply actions
Possibly
Let’s give it a few months before we start attaching teams and players, though..
Although I wouldn’t mind seeing Gray in the Cubs’ system.
I like baseball.
I write for Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times Fantasy
by Satchel Price on Sep 30, 2010 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, definitely
Just seems like a team that would value the arm over the future role.
http://bullpenbanter.com/
if you didn't know (although I'm guessing you do)
The Cubs were the team that drafted Gray out of HS. He put out a very strong “do not draft me, I am not signing” message a few days before the draft, so I have no clue if the Cubs actually made an offer or not, but I can’t think they like him any less now than they did a few years ago.
I've watched Alvarez play a lot
I think he can stay at third base if Rendon is slowed down enough that he winds up at first. Either combination should work fine for the Pirates, though, so it seems like a nonissue. Unless Rendon just falls off a cliff next season he pretty much has to be the pick for them.
http://www.crawfishboxes.com
If Rendon lives up to the hype...
and leads us to a chamionship caliber club, I would be willing to forget the past 18 years.
ETHAN MARTIN!!!!
but who's going to pitch for you
You’ve got A LOT of offense. Purke and Cole are aces and college arms. Pittsburgh needs a couple of those (and the 2010 draft class is a LONG way away). I’d go Purke.
Seattle takes Rendon and, interestingly enough, will be a power in 3 years with him, Ackley and Smoak.
by apoxonbothyourhouses on Sep 30, 2010 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions
It's much too early to say the Pirates have A LOT of offense
Or even league average offense.
http://bullpenbanter.com/
Pirates need a little bit of everything and I feel like it's easier to find good pitching later in the draft than good hitting.
I could be wrong on that, but that is how they got Allie. And they did just draft Taillon and Allie – they should grab Rendon if he has another impressive season.
by Kenneth Arthur on Sep 30, 2010 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions
I am fine with their pitching....
as of now. We are bound to have at least one guy step up and breeze through the minors. Having guys like Taillon, Allie, Von Rosenberg, Cain, Miller, Dodson, Stevenson, Inman, Pounders, Black, Baker, Wilson, Morris, Owens, Locke, McDonald, and Kingham make me confident we will have at least a league average pitching staff while the hitting core is intact.
ETHAN MARTIN!!!!
yes
he has spotted off the coast of somalia recently.
by THESWAMI6 on Sep 29, 2010 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
Has he replaced his bad ankle...
with a peg yet? Only then will he truly become a Pirate!(He may have to lose an eye too)
ETHAN MARTIN!!!!
by joegonzo on Sep 29, 2010 6:40 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I won't be shocked if...
Matt Purke is the pick. Nothing says a team is on the way up like power lefty starter.
Sonny Gray is sick, nasty, awesome. Ben Sheets all over again.
You don't pass up on a talent like Rendon for a pitcher
Attrition rate is too high on pitchers. Even if it was a pre-injury Strasburg it would be a heated argument, I think, and Purke is no Strasburg.
As has been said, there’s another season to be played, but as things stand right now, I’ll be laughing my butt off if Pittsburgh passes up on Rendon.
http://www.crawfishboxes.com
Longoria went 3rd.
And Purke is a better prospect than Hochevar or Reynolds. It’s not impossible…the whole reason a guy is a high first round pick is because a team thinks he’s more likely to make it than not.
Is Rendon really thought of that highly that he’d push pre-injury Strasburg?
he was
kid can rake. best college bat I’ve seen since Tex.
by apoxonbothyourhouses on Sep 30, 2010 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions
and Tex fell to what pick?
Fire Everyone
by billybeingbilly on Sep 30, 2010 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions
Teixeira went No. 5 overall
Because his agent was Scott Boras and he was essentially telling people that he wanted the biggest bonus ever given to anyone.
He was clearly regarded as a special player- that’s how you sign a four-year, $9M MLB contract with a $4.5M signing bonus when most teams haven’t even began to fork out huge money for amateurs yet.
I like baseball.
I write for Beyond the Box Score and The Hardball Times Fantasy
by Satchel Price on Sep 30, 2010 1:06 PM EDT up reply actions
thats the point....
as special as Rendon may be, he still could fall….which someone up there said would be laughable
Fire Everyone
by billybeingbilly on Sep 30, 2010 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I think it's plausible that he drops a couple spots
Given how strong the draft is, his injury, and his potential contract demands.
But with all of that said, it’s hard to see him falling out of the top 5.
Baseball is my preferred sport. It should be yours, too.
I'm an editor for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.
by Satchel Price on Sep 30, 2010 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Barring a major catastrophe, if he slips to the Mariners and they pass, I'm gonna burn this mother down.
by Kenneth Arthur on Sep 30, 2010 3:40 PM EDT up reply actions
So you'd be absolutely furious...
.. if the Pirates take Purke at No. 1 and the M’s take Cole at No. 2..?
Seems like a nice worse-case scenario to me..
Baseball is my preferred sport. It should be yours, too.
I'm an editor for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.
by Satchel Price on Sep 30, 2010 3:44 PM EDT up reply actions
I would also be mad...
no way I want the Pirates to take ANY arm over a bat like Rendon. Even Strasburg wouldn’t be the top pick for me. A star bat is more valuable than a guy who pitches once every five days even if it is almost a guranteed win on that fifth day.
ETHAN MARTIN!!!!
I don't even want to get ahead of myself at this point.
2 game “lead” on Baltimore with 4 games to go.
The Mariners just had the worst offensive season in the DH era. I don’t think you draft for “need” but this is a special scenario. We don’t have any great 3rd base prospects as it is. Rendon should absolutely be the pick if the Pirates want to go for pitching.
by Kenneth Arthur on Sep 30, 2010 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions
But the M's have a few good offensive prospects though
I’d argue there’s most hitting in the minors for them than pitching.
You got Ackley, Saunders, Smoak, Franklin, Liddi, Triunfel, Noriega, Martinez, Jones, Moore, Halman, Chavez, Raben, Carp, Morban and Pimentel.
There’s just not that much high-end pitching in the system beyond Pineda.
Baseball is my preferred sport. It should be yours, too.
I'm an editor for Beyond the Box Score, an SB Nation blog.
by Satchel Price on Oct 1, 2010 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions
But when you play in Safeco, you can flirt with fringe pitching (Hi Jason Vargas and Doug Fister)
Ackley, Saunders, Smoak – sure.
Franklin, Morban, Pimental – Wouldn’t expect them before Rendon hits the majors.
Liddi, Triunfel, Noriega, Martinez, Jones, Chavez, Raben, Carp – I wouldn’t bank on them being major leaguers just yet.
Halman – A lot needs to go right and if it doesn’t, he’s only got 1 option left and then he’s gone.
Matt Mangini is a guy that you forgot that might have something to say about it, and Nate Tenbrink, as far as third base – but they aren’t guys you pass on Rendon for.
By 2012 I expect Smoak (Wow, he’s looked so gooooood this past week) and Ackley to be mainstays that make us respectable. But we need a guy like Rendon badly. Felix and Pineda can handle frontline duties… I’m sure we’ll have another high pick in 2012 anyways. Don’t pass on Rendon.
by Kenneth Arthur on Oct 1, 2010 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions
In a draft of Harper-Strasburg-Rendon
Rendon would easily go third.
by Kenneth Arthur on Sep 30, 2010 12:09 PM EDT up reply actions
I prefer (a healthy) Rendon to Harper
Harper has the two big tools, but what his hit tool and future body will look like are legitimate questions, I think.
http://bullpenbanter.com/
That would still be the minority opinion.
Not necessarily the wrong one, there’s a legitimate argument there – but most GM’s would take Harper over Rendon, if not all 30 of them.
by Kenneth Arthur on Sep 30, 2010 1:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Really? You've asked them?
I’d love to see the results.of such a survey if so…
…my impression is that they are all three very close.
http://www.crawfishboxes.com
Not for me...
Mine would be Rendon-Harper-Strasburg. Rendon is more likely to be a star than Harper(Harper could be a bigger star). Also, I would never take a pitcher over a star position player.
ETHAN MARTIN!!!!
I've seen a few writers who say that they would still take post-TJ Strasburg over Mike Trout in a re-do of the 2009 draft.
Strasburg is obviously one-in-a-million, but he’s still Strasburg.
by Kenneth Arthur on Sep 30, 2010 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Agreed. You could find a guy that really holds up like Felix Hernandez, but Strasburg’s future, IMO, looks like one injury after another because of mechanics and velocity. The Prior comparison was brought up even before Strasburg was injured.
by Adam Reynolds on Sep 30, 2010 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Prior's biggest problems
were overuse and the collision at 1B that jacked up his shoulder. I suppose Strasburg could have those two things happen to him too though.
http://bullpenbanter.com
Sarcasm aside
Seriously, how the heck do you know how MLB general managers would rank the three guys? I certainly have no idea what even one individual GM would think, let alone the majority of them as a group. It’s a silly argument to make.
http://www.crawfishboxes.com
This draft is getting me all giddy over its participants
…they should send down Huntington & Nutting, because they aren’t ready, either. - royshowell
by Marinerfanjake on Sep 30, 2010 12:36 AM EDT reply actions
I agree!!!!
It will be an amazing draft. The talent level is sick. You could seriously get a mid first round prospect in most drafts at every pick in the second round and a top 3 guy in most classes every pick in the top 15. I can’t wait!
ETHAN MARTIN!!!!
Can someone help out on the high school side of things?
Who are the top high schoolers that look like they could be available next season? Any chance someone slips into the top 5?
I have heard
that highschool pitching is the only thing from the past year’s draft that even stacks up with next years draft in talent level.
Daniel Norris
A lefty with some pretty damn good stuff. Some like him more than Tyler Matzek coming out of high school. I wouldn’t go that far, but he is pretty damn good. Travis Harrison is probably the best hitter. Should stick at third and be a good hitter. Them and RHPs Archie Bradley and Dylan Bundy all have a chance at sneaking into the top 5 with Norris being the most likely. I doubt any of them go top 5 though because of how great the college pitching is.
ETHAN MARTIN!!!!
Archie Bradley is my favorite
If he’s signable, he’d be the top prep player for me. I’m not a big Travis Harrison fan, but the rest that you mention are definitely elite. It seems that the prep catching class is pretty strong this year.
http://bullpenbanter.com/
Bradley doesn't seem signable...
pretty similar situation to Zach Lee. I doubt anyone goes crazy one him though. Maybe he can convince the Dodgers to give him 6 mil :p
I know its not baseball related but, the Sooners would have a huge QB controversy if Archie Bradley decides to go to school. Blake Bell(who was drafted by Detroit for some reason this past year) and Bradley are both amazing QB prospects. Both could be NFL caliber QBs one day. Bell is probably the better football prospect though.
ETHAN MARTIN!!!!
Bradley will likely be a top 10 pick though
Lee was good, but he wasn’t elite. I hope someone ponies up the money to sign him. It would be a shame to see his talents wasted playing football.
http://bullpenbanter.com/
Lee was among the elite last year...
either way it’s gonna cost A TON to get him signed. Not many people turn down a chance to play QB on a national championship caliber team.
ETHAN MARTIN!!!!
Not really
If you look at BA’s rankings, Lee never cracked the top 10-15, and they don’t rank on signability.
bradley and bell
Bell was drafted because he would have made a very good baseball prospect if he was interested, just a garbage time draft pick.
I actually think that Bradley might be more signable than you’d initially think. He’s going to be a year behind Bell and if Bell is as good as people think he is and sticks for 4 years (which is probable), that means Bradley is either praying for an injury or getting a year to play QB. So while Bradley isn’t going to be cheap, somebody will put up the money for the kid.
Bubba Starling
is the sexy name to watch for. Basically a scout’s dream – true 5 tool upside and absurd athleticism. While still raw, he apparently tore up the showcase circuit this summer. He has a Zac Lee/Casey Kelly situation though – he has a scholarship to Nebraska to play QB and baseball.
Also, a little birdy told Keith Law that he has added Boras as his advisor. Law might be his biggest fan right now; he said Starling is his top prep prospect for 2011 and should be in the discussion for Pittsburgh at #1.
I like Starling, but that seems awful high to me
Unless he really breaks out, I’d expect him to be more of a mid first rounder.
http://bullpenbanter.com/
Mid 1st is a fine projection
but with his tools, he could ride into a top 5 spot, potentially with his hometown team in KC.
While raw, middle of the order bats that can play CF don’t grow on trees.
Play for the Pirates or be a star college QB at Nebraska with 100k fans chanting your name every week?
I can’t seriously think this guy will sign.
by Kenneth Arthur on Oct 1, 2010 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Minor League Ball
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
