Draft
- Thread starter Bardman
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No Zion Rose or Parker Detmers thru round 10. That SHOULD be a positive for us that they come to school. No Jack - that I have seen. Weird. Does he come back?
Didn't think it would be so soon. He's gotta be a second baseman. Good luck Knap and thanks for the memories.
I agree and that will be a helluva battle going on for those other 2 spots when Jack isn't dhing. That's if he doesn't go late or sign a free agent contract.
Into the 17th round and still no Detmers nor Rose. I think they may have let people know if they were not a top round (1-3 maybe) that they wouldn’t sign and go to college. This could be HUGE for UofL. Not losing their top 3-4 recruits to the draft will really bolster the talent pool!
Payton was drafted so low because he's not considered that good of a catcher. He has to move to another position. Just look at Henry Davis with the Pirates who is a much better catcher than Payton. The Pirates don't have some great catcher, yet they moved Davis to the outfield.
Jack Payton has to know he needs to make a position change. He's good enough to catch in college, but not so much at the next level. I noticed this during last season. He was part of the Cards defensive problems as was Knapp playing SS. I figured he would be back to improve his defense or make a position change.
Jack Payton has to know he needs to make a position change. He's good enough to catch in college, but not so much at the next level. I noticed this during last season. He was part of the Cards defensive problems as was Knapp playing SS. I figured he would be back to improve his defense or make a position change.
I think he could play 3B or 1B. He has decent speed. With Henry, the Pirates are just looking for ways to get him in the lineup.
Pirates don't have a standout catcher. They don't want Davis to catch or he would be. Their plans for him are not behind the plate. He hasn't caught one inning.
I don’t get the rush for someone like Payton to go pro. ACC level baseball is high single A ball enjoy college life and baseball. There is nothing in low level single a ball that compares to college ball and especially if your team goes to Omaha.
The reality is he has a less than 5 percent chance he make it to big league.
The reality is he has a less than 5 percent chance he make it to big league.
I think the success at Louisville with catchers got many to believe Payton was as good as those before him. He's got a great bat but he definitely needs a position change to play at the highest level.
It's nothing to be ashamed of. Bryce Harper was a catcher when he was drafted out of high school. There's a lot of dudes who stopped catching when they were drafted.
I hope he comes back either way.
It's nothing to be ashamed of. Bryce Harper was a catcher when he was drafted out of high school. There's a lot of dudes who stopped catching when they were drafted.
I hope he comes back either way.
I think you're wrong about Davis at catcher. The Pirates want his bat in the lineup but don't want to put too much pressure on him by also playing catcher. We will see...
That just doesn't make any sense. If they think he's a major league catcher, why not see him in action? Pressure? What other rookie is playing out of position due to pressure?
Look at the Mets young catcher. They brought him up and he's won the job behind the plate. Same with the Orioles star catcher who came up last season and has been the starter since. These teams didn't concern themselves with too much pressure.
Henry Davis was the overall #1 pick just two years ago. He's already in the majors. I don't think he let's pressure bother him. He's not catching because the Pirates want to move him to the outfield, and they're not doing this because they already have a standout catcher.
They're not sold on his catching so their seeing if he can play the outfield. Now wouldn't that be more pressure for Davis, having to learn a new position at the highest level of baseball?
The Pirates like his bat but they don't need that as much, especially from their outfield. They do however want to see if he can make the change defensively and also continue to hit successfully.
Just my opinion. Haven't heard or read anything from the Pirates.
Hopefully this helps. Austin Hedges, the starting catcher is just 30 years old. The backup Jason Delay is 28 years old. The Pirates are good with their play at catcher right now. Its not like one of them sucks and they need to replace them with Henry. The Pirates are just finding a way to get his bat into the everyday lineup instead of every 3rd day that a backup catcher usually plays. If the Pirates wanted to only develop him at catcher, he would be at AAA or AA catching almost every game.
Hedges is a career back up, started his career with the Indians. Delay is not a high draft pick and neither would be over a #1 overall draft pick who made the show in just two years.
The Pirates are not in contention this year despite their good start. There's no reason to rush Davis up and into the lineup unless they wanted to try him at another position. But hey, I don't really know not being a Pirates fan. I'm just a long time baseball fan and everything about this tells me he's being moved away from catching.
The Pirates are not in contention this year despite their good start. There's no reason to rush Davis up and into the lineup unless they wanted to try him at another position. But hey, I don't really know not being a Pirates fan. I'm just a long time baseball fan and everything about this tells me he's being moved away from catching.
Yes, if his injury still lingers that could be the reason. I'm still surprised they brought him up so soon. I think a lot of teams are seeing other teams bring up their top prospects with instant success, so they're following suit.
He is a good enough athlete to play in the outfield. His bat is why is up there. If I was Davis hell yeah put me in the outfield screw the wear and tear that comes with catching.
I think he'll get his shot there at some point.
Who knows how the Pirates intend to play this one with rotating guys there,but yeah they want that offense.
Btw,Cruz expected to return early August. All the youngsters coming aboard and possibly seeing Skenes too,they're making a push along with the Reds to make some history on these turnaround seasons 👏
Who knows how the Pirates intend to play this one with rotating guys there,but yeah they want that offense.
Btw,Cruz expected to return early August. All the youngsters coming aboard and possibly seeing Skenes too,they're making a push along with the Reds to make some history on these turnaround seasons 👏
Btw,the discussion about Davis taking the mitt back is squarely on the front burner as Hedges continues to struggle at the plate.
The feeling from the press up there is that the Pirates' organization doesn't think Henry is a MLB catcher.
There are plenty of folks that think he needs to get his shot right now,as the Pirates seem to be playing their way out of contention and playing towards a breakout type season in 2024.
The feeling from the press up there is that the Pirates' organization doesn't think Henry is a MLB catcher.
There are plenty of folks that think he needs to get his shot right now,as the Pirates seem to be playing their way out of contention and playing towards a breakout type season in 2024.
Hedges is batting .170 and Delay under .250. Both have as many home runs total as Davis has in just a few weeks of playing.
It just seems obvious to me Davis would be behind the plate if the Pirates wanted him there. I think Davis's career will be as an outfielder. And as someone said, that's probably better for Davis.
It just seems obvious to me Davis would be behind the plate if the Pirates wanted him there. I think Davis's career will be as an outfielder. And as someone said, that's probably better for Davis.
Not disagreeing with this. Not everybody up in Pittsburgh sees it that way. I can think of 5 million reasons that Hedges is still the catcher. Like I said,who knows what the Pirates are thinking,but it almost looks like the one year contract with Hedges gives Davis a chance to build repore with the staff,as he is participating in bullpen duties,while working with the staff on his defensive techniques 🤷♂️
In other words, there is a possibility that the Pirates believe Henry is ready as a hitter to play at this level, but needs to be groomed before they throw him into the lion's pit at catcher. I don't think we'll know until the off-season or next Spring.
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