The Pittsburgh Pirates 23rd round Pick Garrett Brown brings speed and average to a Pirates minor league system that is full of talented young outfielders. Brown has all of the makings of a future star for the Pirates organization.
In the 23rd round of the 2016 MLB Amateur Draft the Pittsburgh Pirates added to their already deep pool of talented outfield prospects when they drafted outfielder Garrett Brown out of Western Carolina University. Brown officially is set to begin his professional career as he signed with the Pirates back on June 17.
Now many people will pay no attention to this signing as he was a late draft pick. However, a look at the stat line for Brown may tell a different story. Last season for Western Carolina Brown hit .321 with four home runs and 34 RBI striking out 30 times and walking 12 times in 58 games played.
Brown also boasted a decent on base percentage of .370 and a slugging percentage up at .435. These numbers may not be blow you out of the water numbers but they are intriguing as Brown starts to develop in the Pirates minor league system.
Another thing that pops out when looking at Brown's stat line is the speed that he possesses. Last season Brown swiped 34 bags In 58 games played and was only caught eight times all season. You can teach a player how to better his average but you can't teach speed.
Speed not only helps on the base paths but in the field as well. One look at the Pirates major league outfield proves that. With Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen, and Gregory Polanco patrolling the field the Pirates have been named one of the best outfields In all of major league baseball.
Brown's high average at .321 is another positive sign. If he can hit for contact and get on base a lot he could develop into a highly talented outfield prospect. And, when he hits the ball, he gets a lot of base hits as his BABIP sat at .349 last season. He is able to find holes when he needs to and can leg out infield hits.
Brown's dreams of a professional career were actually in another sport, football. He was a star quarterback for his high school team and dreamt of glory at the sport. However, when he took his talents to Western Carolina University things went south. He would be named the back up quarterback and could never quite get his feet under him.
As the famous saying goes, when one door closes another door opens and Brown found his stride in the sport of baseball. His average took off and he really showed his abilities with both speed and average, talents that will hopefully translate into success with the Pirates.
Many fans pay no attention to the late round draft picks and only worry about the fan fare of picks one through ten. However, sometimes you find a diamond in the rough and I feel Brown has the tools to succeed in the Pirates minor league system.
Brown has faced ups and downs in his sporting career as he saw his football dreams die while watching his baseball dreams soar higher than ever. Only time will tell, but I believe that Brown could be one of the sleepers in the late rounds who helps and improve this Pittsburgh Pirates team in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment