Friday, June 12, 2015

2015 Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Wrap-Up

Welcome to my 4th annual (if you ignore the fact that I didn't do one of these last year) recap of the Pittsburgh Pirates draft. Please note that if you're looking for detailed analysis of the players' baseball skills, you've come to the wrong place. (I suggest going to Bucs Dugout or Pirates Prospects for that.) This is insight of the Pirates' draft that you won't see anywhere else.

Kevin Newman (1st round draft pick), SS, Arizona
Kevin Kramer (2nd), SS, UCLA

A lot of people made Seinfeld references based on these picks, but that's taking the easy road. Instead, I think the Pirates wanted to go back to the 90s and start a new Kevin club in the tradition of former players Kevin Young, Kevin Polcovich and Kevin Elster (yes, he was briefly a member of the Pirates). Naturally, the President of the Kevin club should be Kevin Arnold.


Logan Sendelbach, RHP, Tiffin University (10th)
Logan Ratledge, SS, NC State (13th)
Logan Hill, RF, Troy (25th)

Forget the Kevin club, there's now a Logan club!

Tanner Anderson, RHP, Harvard (20th) - This is the requisite mention that Anderson must be smart since he attended Harvard.

Nicholas Economos, RHP, Mercer County CC (21st) - Economos is the person to talk to about supply and demand. I'd be interested in hearing a conversation between Economos and Harvard's Tanner Anderson about the pros and cons of Adam Smith. (Does MLB.com or Baseball America have any Adam Smith references? I don't think so!)

Brandon Waddell, LHP, Virginia (5th) - Waddell wobbles but he doesn't fall down.



Bret Helton, RHP, Utah (9th) - Please be related to Colorado Rockies great Todd Helton. Please be related to Todd Helton. (Checks..."Father Barry Helton was an All-American football player at Colorado and spent four years in the NFL, winning two Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers." Well, that's something.)

Scooter Hightower, RHP, Columbia State CC (15th) - Finally, we see what happens when we combine a Muppet and a Police Academy character.

Stephan Meyer, RHP, Bellevue (18th) - After writing the Twilight series of books, Meyer looks to make the jump to major league baseball.

Jonathan Brubaker, RHP, Akron (6th) - May I introduce you to J.T. Tall!



Apparently, Bucs Dugout meant for "Tall" to be the start of a new sentence, but I read this (as did others) as J.T. Tall. Let the nickname stick!

Mitchell Tolman, 3B, Oregon (7th) - I guess he can go by M.T. Tol?

Ike Schlabach, LHP, Timber Creek HS, Keller, Texas (19th) - Schlabach could be the greatest Ike in Pirates history since Ike Davis.

Mike Wallace, RHP, Fairfield (30th) - I always thought Wallace could be a two-sport star. He's no Antonio Brown though.

Sean Keselica, LHP, Virginia Tech (33rd) - Sean is welcome to provide a guest post on Sean's Ramblings anytime. Current Pirate Sean Rodriguez is too.

Conor Costello, RHP, Oklahoma St. (38th round)

His "Who's On First" routine with former pitcher Jim Abbott is a classic.



To see my previous draft recaps, please click here.

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