Never mind the numbers, Pirates find developing draft picks into pitchers 'exciting'

When it comes to some of the pitchers the Pittsburgh Pirates picked in the MLB Draft, never mind the numbers.

That was the warning from Pirates senior director of amateur scouting Joe DelliCarri, who shared his excitement about draft picks whose resumes might give some pause as to why they were drafted.

“There were a few players on the board that we selected that you might say have had successes at different times along the way,” DelliCarri said. “(They) may present themselves in the moment not having as much success now. Do I call those gems? Maybe not necessarily, but it’s an opportunity for our (coaching and player development) group to really bond with these young men first and foremost and meet them where they are.”

The Pirates used 16 of their 21 picks on pitchers, including two-way player Jack Brannigan of Notre Dame. That included pitchers coming off subpar seasons and a couple who missed parts or the entirety of the 2022 season with injuries. And that’s the challenge that brings excitement for those who spent years scouting them as prospects.

Hunter Barco's 10Ks (0 BBs) pic.twitter.com/7GCufwiT2T

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 19, 2022

Second-round pick Hunter Barco, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound left-hander from Florida, had a 4.01 ERA in 16 starts in 2021 and had his junior season ended by Tommy John surgery. That didn’t stop DelliCarri from raving about the angles and deception created by his three-quarters arm slot.

“Hunter’s been on our radar since high school,” DelliCarri said. “He really made tremendous progress over time, with a lot of strikes, figuring out his angles and deception, the command that he’s shown us before the Tommy John surgery.”

More Pirates draft coverage:

• Pirates continue to load up on pitching, taking 8 on final day of MLB Draft
• Pirates pick 2-way player Jack Brannigan from Notre Dame in 3rd round of MLB Draft
• Pirates impressed by 1st-rounder Termarr Johnson’s confident approach

Brannigan, drafted in the third round as a third baseman/pitcher, had a career 6.94 ERA and averaged 5.4 walks per nine innings as a reliever at Notre Dame, but the Pirates saw potential in his 21 relief appearances. His fastball touched triple digits, and he averaged 14.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

DelliCarri pointed to three pitchers as prospects whose stuff the Pirates liked despite their losing records and high ERAs: right-handers Derek Diamond of Ole Miss, J.P. Massey of Minnesota and K.C. Hunt of Mississippi State. It also might allow them to sign players for less than their slot value.

Senior Gophers pitcher J.P. Massey picked up a pair of strikeouts in the first inning. #Gophers pic.twitter.com/IAyUZxxcVn

— Tom Froemming (@TFTwins) March 6, 2022

They took the 6-2, 200-pound Diamond in the sixth round after a season in which he had a 6.89 ERA and opponents batted .292 against him and went from Friday night starter to not pitching in the College World Series as the Rebels won the national championship.

The 6-5, 205-pound Massey was picked in the seventh round despite going 2-8 with a 6.52 ERA in 12 starts.

The Pirates picked Hunt in the 12th round after he went 2-4 with a 7.46 ERA this past season, a year after helping the Bulldogs win the national championship.

“There are a few pitchers probably who fit that mold,” DelliCarri said. “There a few of those who, timing-wise, have done some things and certainly are doing more than fine now. But we’ve seen even stronger out of them at different times along the way. We really rely on our timelines and timestamps along the way of what these pitchers and some of these players have done in samples and different samples, and we’re trying to connect on those.”

Another disgusting breaking ball from K.C. Hunt. Strikeout number three on the night. pic.twitter.com/QGe1pau8ZL

— Cole Weintraub (@WeintraubCole) June 11, 2022

Hunt helped his cause by pitching well for the Trenton Thunder of the MLB Draft League this summer, showing a four-pitch mix featuring a mid-90s fastball and a curveball with a 59% whiff rate.

It also doesn’t hurt Hunt that, despite his name being connected to the wrong brand of ketchup for Pittsburghers, he has Hall of Fame connections to the Pirates: His middle name is Clemente (after Roberto) and he was scouted by Darren Mazeroski (son of Bill).

The Pirates had to ignore something else with one pitcher, 11th-round pick Dominic Perachi. His numbers are impressive, as the 6-4, 195-pound right-hander went 9-1 with a 1.00 ERA and 120 strikeouts (15.1 per nine innings) against 20 walks in 71 2/3 innings. But he compiled them at Division III Salve Regina in Rhode Island.

SO LHP Dominic Perachi (Salve Regina U)

6-3, 190LBS w/ present strength in the lower half. Strong lower half drive down the slope and a long, clean arm swing. FB sitting 87-89MPH. Feel for a quality CB, w/ top spin of 2564. @NYCBLbaseball @PBR_NewEngland pic.twitter.com/Uovu28ngGc

— PBR New York (@PBRNewYork) July 10, 2021

“That’s the break,” DelliCarri said. “Scouting-wise, we think he’s going to continue to do the things he does, traits-wise and ability-wise and how he’s gotten hitters out. Been terrific. We expect him to continue to do some of the things that he’s done to this point. We think that has a chance to play very well, continuing forward at whatever level. … We’re trying to bridge a gap, and we think he brings a lot of things to the table that should continue to play out going forward, regardless of who’s in that batter’s box.”

Of the 16 pitchers the Pirates picked, 14 played college baseball. That gave them plenty of time to scout the prospects and make evaluations based on the stuff they showed more than the results they got. DelliCarri emphasized that the scouting department was satisfied with what it saw and believes it found some diamonds in the rough.

“Those are always exciting. Those are exciting in many ways that our area supervisors, our regional supervisors and our whole group pretty much have known those types of players for a long time and have tracked them for a long time,” DelliCarri said. “The work that’s done sometimes for years comes to fruition at the moment in individual drafts. I think we took a few players like that.

“I’d say we took a couple of players — or maybe several players — like that where they may not be trending perfectly now or seem like that on the outside, but we have a lot of history with them. They’re always fun to get because there are a lot of people and a lot of work that has gone into them.”