OnlyBucs

Channeling my inner Omar Moreno/Andy Van Slyke/Jason Kendall/Bill Virdon, it's time for #18. Braxton Ashcraft and his cravat take #17 but 6 guys had at least 3 votes (and, oddly enough, for the 3rd poll in a row, 11 of 12 got votes). The 1 who doesn't usually get votes is the guy I added. So I expect Korean SS prospect Ji-Hwan Bae to get 0 this time, since he's the add-on.



And it's worked out so that the add-on has been taking the same place in the list as the previous winner. Seems as good a process for picking who's next. But let's vote!



The results so far:

#1- Mitch Keller, 23 year-old RHSP, 2018- Altoona/Indy, should make MLB debut this year. 68.2% of the vote

#2- Ke'Bryan Hayes, 21 year-old 2x minor league gold glove 3B, Altoona in 2018, Probably Indy in 2019. 92.3% of the vote

#3- Cole Tucker, 22- year-old SS, Altoona in 2018, Altoona or Indy probably in 2019- 59.1% of the vote

#4- O'Neil Cruz, 21, probably too big to be a SS, probably blocked by KBH at 3rd, but a bat too good to be ignored. 48.1% of the vote.

#5- Travis Swaggerty, 21, CF, #1 draft pick, high upside. 83.7% of the vote

#6- Kevin Kramer, 25, 2B, made debut last year, should be a major contributor, especially if Frazier has to play OF. Won run-off for #6.

#7- Will Craig, 24, 1B, Altoona 2018/Indy 2019. Former #1, can drive in runs, would like to see more power. 30% of the vote.

#8- Brian Reynolds, OF, 23, Altoona 2018/Indy 2019; part of the Cutch Deal, may have been higher if not hurt last year. 35.7% of the vote

#9- Cal Mitchell, 19, OF, 2018- WV, 2019-Bradenton? All-around good prospect and 2nd round draftee in 2017.

#10- Kevin Newman, 25, SS- unless someone is acquired from outside the organization, he's the starting SS for the Bucs in 2018. 40% of the vote.

#11- Jason Martin, 23, OF- AAA this year, a chance to be in the bigs. Won with 44% of the vote.

#12- J.T. Brubaker, 25, P, AAA- on the 40 man so odds are good he'll show up in the Burgh this year for at least a cuppa. 28.9% of the vote.

#13- Pablo Reyes, 25, Utility, AAA/MLB- will play a lot, will he make the team? 24.1% of the vote.

#14- Lolo Sanchez, 19, OF, A- down a little from last year but still only 19 with a projectable bat and speed. 22% of the vote.

#15- Luis Escobar, 22, SP, AA- 110 K/128 IP. 27.6% of the vote.

#16- Nick Burdi, 26, RP- has to be on the roster for 60 games anyway. 17.6% of the vote.

#17- Braxton Ashcraft, 19, SP- high draft pick, probably will start in Greensboro (since the WV Power no longer are affiliates), won with 24.2% of the vote.

They have been sending their prep pitchers to Bristol in their first full season. Bolton went to WV in his first full year, but he was older.

I've had no consistency in my voting.  It's *almost* as if I don't really know what I'm talking about and am just picking someone that seems like a good idea at the time.

I'm a bit surprised that Gage Hinsz hasn't been voted in yet. I think he's the biggest sleeper in our system. I was worried that we might lose him in the Rule 5 draft.



Now that he's in good health, look out for this guy!

There are a number of pitchers to choose from now that I don't think anyone here has any basis for selecting.



Macgregor will be out all of 2019 so he's off my radar. Hinsz and Ogle are sort of in the same boat to me. They were both draft projects that haven't shown much of anything in the minors due to injury and not having progressed beyond A ball. Bolton, Jennings and Thomas are all approaching their potential breakout seasons this year, so I don't think we know anything about them until at least this full season. I don't think anything of Holmes at this point. Alemais and Oliva both have pretty limited ceilings and Bae and Davis are also too early to call.



So, shoulder shrug.

6B5648454A404B694156474140240 wrote: There are a number of pitchers to choose from now that I don't think anyone here has any basis for selecting.



Macgregor will be out all of 2019 so he's off my radar. Hinsz and Ogle are sort of in the same boat to me. They were both draft projects that haven't shown much of anything in the minors due to injury and not having progressed beyond A ball. Bolton, Jennings and Thomas are all approaching their potential breakout seasons this year, so I don't think we know anything about them until at least this full season. I don't think anything of Holmes at this point. Alemais and Oliva both have pretty limited ceilings and Bae and Davis are also too early to call.



So, shoulder shrug.


Hinsz had an interesting breakout during winter ball this past year:



https://rumbunter.com/2018/12/14/pittsb ... ack-story/



So I think we're at a point that Hinsz should be one of the young arms everyone seems to be voting for right now. Jennings for me just because he was a two-sport star and is an above average athlete with a high ceiling. I do find Thomas interesting and will start voting for him next -- unless he comes off the board before Jennings.

506D737E717B70527A6D7C7A7B1F0 wrote: There are a number of pitchers to choose from now that I don't think anyone here has any basis for selecting.



Macgregor will be out all of 2019 so he's off my radar. Hinsz and Ogle are sort of in the same boat to me. They were both draft projects that haven't shown much of anything in the minors due to injury and not having progressed beyond A ball. Bolton, Jennings and Thomas are all approaching their potential breakout seasons this year, so I don't think we know anything about them until at least this full season. I don't think anything of Holmes at this point. Alemais and Oliva both have pretty limited ceilings and Bae and Davis are also too early to call.



So, shoulder shrug.


fangraphs is fairly high on Oliva (ranked him 11th)



Oliva went undrafted as an eligible sophomore at Arizona because he was too raw and inexperienced due to a total lack of reps while in high school. He emerged as a speed/raw power flier as a junior, but slid to the Pirates in the 7th round and signed for slot. His performance in 2018, his first full pro season, exceeded all expectations; in his college career (172 games) Oliva produced 9 homers and a .773 OPS while in 2018 at High-A he hit (108 games) 9 homers with a .778 OPS, despite skipping Low-A.



Oliva’s feel for contact is still somewhat clumsy and he remains a power-over-hit offensive performer at the plate, but he’s an athlete in the classic center field mold, like Drew Stubbs and Cameron Maybin, and is very likely to play there for a while. He’s now on a trajectory to start 2019 in Double-A and possibly hit his way to the big leagues just two years after sliding in the draft due to the lack of a statistical track record.



https://blogs.fangraphs.com/top-35-pros ... h-pirates/

43717D7D695B78717C797671100 wrote: I've had no consistency in my voting.  It's *almost* as if I don't really know what I'm talking about and am just picking someone that seems like a good idea at the time.
already 11 different players have had votes this round, so I think everyone is in the same boat. I didn't vote for the same guy I voted for in the last round and he was still eligible.