Pirates 23rd Round Pick Brown Speed/Average Boads Well in Pros

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.

Seventh Round Pick Gibbs Adds to Pirates Backstop Depth

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the signing of nine of their 2016 draft picks yesterday. Among them was catcher Brent Gibbs from Central Arizona College adding to the deep catching corps that the Pirates already have. Gibbs is very good defensively and shows some offensive promise as well.

Yesterday the Pittsburgh Pirates announced the signing of nine of their 2016 draft picks including their first round draft pick Will Craig. Among the other nine players signed was catcher Brent Gibbs from Central Arizona College, a junior college located in Arizona. The school has produced major league names like the Detroit Tigers Ian Kinsler and current Pittsburgh Pirates reliever A.J. Schugel.

With a farm system deep in catching talent, Gibbs adds to that depth joining Elias Diaz and Reese McGuire as the top prospects in the catching department. Diaz is currently on the disabled list and Reese McGuire is hitting .243 with one home run and 23 RBI as the everyday catcher in Double A Altoona. Both have had a rocky road to the majors, but have enjoyed success in the Pirates minor league system.

Brent Gibbs comes to the Pirates out of Central Arizona where he had a very strong offensive season hitting .396 with five home runs and 38 RBI. He also had a very high on base percentage sitting at .496 and a slugging percentage of .590. He has very good plate discipline as well only striking out 22 times and walking 15 in 144 at bats last season.

Gibbs is ranked as the 194th best prospect in the 2016 draft class and experts have said that he is a very good defensive catcher with offensive promise. For Gibbs it will be a long road to the majors, but looking at his college stats, I think he has a good chance to be a back stop for the Pirates for many years to come.

Numbers dont lie, and for Gibbs the biggest success he has had offensively is that high batting average of .396. Usually catchers are not that good offensively because of the physical demands of the position they play. However, Gibbs breaks this stereotype getting on base at a consistent basis and setting the table for the people behind him in the lineup.

Gibbs also has very good plate discipline only striking out 22 times to go along with 15 walks in 144 at-bats last season. It is good to see a prospect with some plate discipline at the plate. If you have a free swinging prospect, it is harder to tone him down then to bring up a guy who is more patient at the plate. We will see if his plate discipline translates into affiliated baseball, but as of right now, Gibbs shows great plate discipline.

The thing Gibbs is most noted for, however, is his defensive ability and again looking at the numbers they support that statement. Gibbs had a .994 fielding percentage behind the plate last season only committing two errors 317 total chances. He also collected 278 put-outs on the season in those 317 chances.

Gibbs is very good at holding runners at bay behind the plate as he threw out 46% of base stealers allowing 16 stolen bases and throwing out 14 runners on the season. Controlling the running game is a big thing that scouts look at in a catcher and for Gibbs, he has that aspect of his game down with a strong arm that is crucial to success behind the plate.

To put Gibbs caught stealing numbers in perspective, the major league leaders in caught stealing percentage last year were A.J Ellis of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the national league with a 45% caught stealing rate, and Russel Martin of the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League with a 44.4% caught stealing rate. The current league leader in 2016 is Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants with a 58.3% caught stealing rate.

While college base runners are not as refined as guys like Billy Hamilton and Starling Marte at the major league level, but it is a good sign to see that Gibbs has a very strong arm that can handle base runners. If he can continue this in the professional ranks, he will be a hot commodity for the Pirates and a great asset to the future of this team.

Overall, I love this pick of Gibbs in round seven. He will be more than likely be assigned to the West Virginia Black Bears A short season club, however, the Pirates have not officially announced where they will send Gibbs at this point. Whenever Gibbs gets his pro career started, we can get a further look at what he can do going through the Pirates system.

The Pirates have signed their current catcher Francisco Cirvelli to a three-year deal, and by the end of that contract we could see Gibbs as high as double A Altoona. If he can work hard and continue having the success he had in college, we could see him in a Pirates uniform around the 2021-2022 seasons. Gibbs provides exciting numbers now, and will only grow from here as he moves up the Pirates minor league system.