I subscribe to a prospect oriented site called Pirates Prospects. While they have coverage of the big league team, their bread and butter is going into intimate detail on all the farm teams. Being that I have the NYPL affiliate Black Bears in my background it makes for a nice resource when learning about the new crop of players every year.
The site becomes extremely helpful around the draft and trade deadline time. Last year the Pirates didn't make a ton of moves during the season. The only notable player shipped out was Tony Watson to the Dodgers. The deal kind of flew under the radar since Watson struggled a good bit in 2017, but the return for the Pirates netted an interesting prospect.
2016 Bowman Chrome Oneal (Oneil Cruz) Auto
When you trade struggling middle relievers you don't get sure thing prospects. Often times you get players like Oneil Cruz. The thing about Cruz that makes him unique is that he is a 6'6, 19 year old shortstop. The Dodgers were playing him at third base, but the Pirates seem to think the footwork is good enough for him to make the permanent switch. At the time the article was written about Cruz it is believed that he may be the tallest shortstop in professional baseball.
The article made mention how teams are starting to ignore positional bias that certain body types are made for certain positions. The average height for a shortstop now is 6'1 with a few stars being 6'3 like Correa and Seager.
Who knows what the future holds for Cruz. He has a long way to go being that he is only 19 and still filling out his frame. It would be cool to see him stick at the position.
Thanks for reading
No such thing as having too many shortstops. Just let him show what he's got and if he works out sort out any logjams later.
ReplyDeletePirates do a pretty good job of at least trying to play guys at their most premium position. Neil Walker catching for example.
DeleteI used to visit Pirates Prospects daily until it went to paid subscription only. Bucs dugout is still decent for minor league reports. I just stick with the PP season guide they sell each year.
ReplyDeleteThey do a really good job and they've recently hired some respected writers so that was cool. Look forward to the Black Bears coverage every year. I didn't really mind paying the subscription. No one else is really going into intimate detail for prospects.
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