GM gets an assist from the Steelers
New draft formats get conversations going
Since Ben Cherington took over, one thing we’ve learned about the Pirates general manager is that he is hardly averse to learning something new.
If you think about it, it probably explains why he was willing to spend time teaching at Columbia University after leaving the Boston Red Sox and re-emerging in baseball in a player development role with the Toronto Blue Jays.
As Major League Baseball wrestles with how to handle a pared-down, virtual draft, Cherington has put his quest for knowledge to work, soliciting advice from his Steelers counterpart, Kevin Colbert, on how he handled April’s NFL draft.
“I had a couple conversations with Kevin and then some text exchange,” Cherington said in a recent conference call. “We’ve also been able to pull some feedback from other NFL teams, too. Kevin was extremely helpful and generous with information.”
The MLB draft will be June 10-11 and consist of just five rounds, plus compensatory picks. Like the NFL, it will be done remotely. Baseball must deal, however, with the fact that many players who will be selected do not carry the same amount of data, the result of canceled or truncated spring seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his talks with Colbert, Cherington said they talked some about technology, specifically how to implement it and how the Pirates can use it to their advantage. But they’re also trying to guard against its overuse.
“One of the things that he said that really resonated with me was that in a virtual environment, there can be a sort of inclination to kind of pursue every possible new gadget and technical toy out there to incorporate into the process,” Cherington said. “You want to be careful about that because at the end of the day, it’s still about getting the board right.”
That board starts with the No. 7 overall pick and continues with the 31st overall pick — a compensatory selection.
Cherington mentioned college pitching as one area that he thinks might be especially strong this year, though that doesn’t necessarily mean the Pirates will take a college pitcher high. They’ve most frequently have been linked to college hitters, specifically Arkansas outfielder Heston
Kjerstad, a future middle-of-the-order bat and the type of player they lack in their minor league system.
The pitching could come into play later because “there’s college pitching that will go after the first round that is pretty good,” Cherington said.
An unknown variable will be high school talent, specifically pitchers. In the past, the Pirates have taken at least one up high, prioritizing upside over immediate impact. That still could make sense given their organizational needs and the fact that premium pitching always will be valuable.
But a key for the Pirates will be establishing/finalizing their draft board and factoring in signability and the certainty of that pick actually panning out, given the reduced margin for error in a shortened draft.
“The debate itself feels very similar,” Cherington said. “Arguing over all the same stuff. Debating the same information, factors, etc. It’s a similar group: It’s scouting, it’s informatics, it’s our performance group, it’s the front-office decision-making. It’s all the same inputs, very similar conversations, just virtual.”
And more targeted, it seems. “What’s changed now, just as we’ve gotten closer to the draft, we’re probably focusing our time on a smaller group of players that we normally would, which maybe is a good thing in a year that we’re having to do that virtually and use technology,” Cherington said.
There’s also the extra wrinkle of signing undrafted players, a process that will be limited to a $20,000 signing bonus for players who go that route.
If a player is out of college eligibility, that’s easy. It’s probably the best thing for him to sign. But if that player has another option, perhaps it makes more sense for him to stay in college or decide to give it a shot in the first place. Cherington said the Pirates have attacked this in a specific way, and the key has been figuring out how, and to whom, they can sell that opportunity.
Perhaps it’s sliding into a meaningful role or it could be the Pirates making it known to a prospective player that he would have a clear path to playing time. Anything that offers some sort of enticement to sign with the Pirates, even though the money offered isn’t terribly desirable for someone with pro aspirations.
“We certainly want to take advantage of opportunities,” Cherington said. “The other thing we’re kind of calibrating against is truly being able to honor and commit to opportunity. So, if we’re going to pursue a player after the fifth round, we want to be able to feel good about our commitment to what that opportunity looks like.”
While a normal draft might be focused more on mass, bringing in 30-40 players and hoping enough of them pan out, 2020 will be defined more by how well the Pirates are able to match their existing opportunities with the skill sets and desires of those looking to carve out a life in pro baseball.
“It’s been a good exercise in that it’s forced us to think about what we are actually providing to a prospective amateur player coming into the organization and how can we present that,” Cherington said. “We’ve got a bunch of people who’ve spent time putting those resources together and creating visuals and a way to share that. So, we’ll see. I have no idea where it will end up. We’re certainly hopeful we’ll be able to sign some additional players after the draft.”