Prospects protected for draft

Pirates add four to 40-man roster

The Pirates on Tuesday added four players to their 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft: Endy Rodriguez, Mike Burrows, Jared Triolo and Colin Selby.

To make room, they designated for assignment: Tyler Heineman, Junior Fernandez, Manny Banuelos and Jeremy Beasley.

Rodriguez was a slam dunk. The 22-year-old native of Santiago, Dominican Republic, was the Pirates’ Honus Wagner Minor League Player of the Year after hitting .323 with a .997 OPS in 124 games across three levels, with 39 doubles, 25 home runs, 95 RBIs and 92 runs scored.

The versatile Rodriguez led Pirates minor leaguers in most offensive categories, and his OPS was fifth among full-season minor leaguers at any level in 2022. Originally acquired in the Joe Musgrove deal as a catcher, Rodriguez can also play first and second base and the corner outfield spots.

Burrows, meanwhile, had a dominant run with Double-A Altoona before making the jump to Triple-A, going 42 with the Curve in 12 starts, with a 2.94 ERA and 19 walks against 69 strikeouts in 52 innings. His WHIP was just 1.096, and Burrows represented the Pirates at All-Star Futures Game in Los Angeles, showing off an elite fastball-curveball mix and a developing changeup.

In Triple-A, Burrows encountered some adversity, going 1-4 in 12 games (10 starts) with a 5.31 ERA, walking 12 and striking out 42 in 42 1/3 innings, though he had a 2.10 ERA and .189 batting average against in the seven outings before he went on the injured list with shoulder issues.

Given the way he pitched this season, Selby worked his way into this spot.

Rylan Domingues, a data analyst at Tread Athletics in Charlotte, N.C. — the highend training facility where Mitch Keller went last offseason — tweeted out Tuesday that Selby had the second-best pure stuff, based on their numbers, in the Pirates’ MLB bullpen.

Selby throws his fastball in the upper-90s and mixes it with two effective breaking balls. Making 26 of his 29 appearances this season for Double-A Altoona, Selby had a 2.27 ERA in 35 2/3 innings, walking 14 and striking out 43.

Triolo, 24, whom the Pirates drafted in the second round in 2019, spent the entire year with Double-A Altoona, batted .282 in 112 games, which was second in the Eastern League.

He was also second in walks (63), third in on-base percentage (.376), seventh in hits (120) and tied for ninth in steals (24). Defensively, Triolo was third among Eastern League third baseman in double plays (15), tied for first in assists (165) and second in total chances (237) and fielding percentage (.970) among players with at least 60 games played at the position.

As for those who weren’t protected:

• Malcom Nunez, 24, first baseman who hit 23 home runs with 88 RBIs in 119 games at three minor-league levels.

• Blake Sabol, 24, a catcher/first baseman who hit 19 home runs with 75 RBIs mostly at Double-A Altoona.

• Matt Gorski, 24, the Pirates’ Minor League Slugger of the Year.

• Tahnaj Thomas, transitioning to bullpen with 100mphg fastball.,