Prior to the pandemic, the Pirates had one of their most eventful offseasons in recent history that came as a result of a dreadful second half implosion.  Everything went wrong after the All-Star break, and I mean everything. The team was plagued with injuries, especially within their starting rotation that included the news of ace RHP Jameson Taillon needing Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career. Tensions were high in the clubhouse as well, with altercations occurring between players and coaches showing the lack of control by manager Clint Hurdle. The icing on the cake was the disgusting and inexcusable criminal charges handed to top closer Felipe Vazquez in mid-September, which was completely gut-wrenching on so many levels.

A 4-24 record after the 2019 All-Star break seemed like a train wreck at the time, but it was enough for ownership to realize that change was needed in the organization. Pirates’ principal owner and chairman Bob Nutting saw enough and worked with other executives to clean the house. Long-tenured manager Clint Hurdle was fired prior to the last game of the season, followed by pitching coach Ray Searage among others on the Major League staff. Not only did the team need to bring in coaches, but they dismissed general manager Neal  Huntington and team president Frank Coonelly as well and needed to fill their spots.

While some may envision a productive offseason to be signing a superstar or some other quality players, the Pirates needed to fill several of these jobs in both their front office and coaching staff. It took a few months, but the Pirates finally hired Travis Williams as president and World Series champion Ben Cherington as their GM. Several interviews later, Cherington and company chose former Twins’ bench coach as the Bucs’ new manager, something the club and fans have not experienced since the beginning of the last decade.

As the Pirates begin what some might call the “Shelton Era” or “Cherington Era”, expectations for the team should not be that high. GM Cherington essentially refused to refer to the team’s state as a rebuild, but the Pirates are going to have to keep adding to their farm if they wish to compete towards the middle of the decade. They have some talent and players with high upside within the organization, though not nearly enough to keep up with the top teams in the National League. With new management, there is a need to get a feel for what players may have a future in Pittsburgh, which is why you could call 2020 a year of evaluation.

First baseman Josh Bell is the first position player that comes to mind. Bell has been with the team consistently since making the Opening Day roster in 2017, finally breaking out last year slashing .277/.367/.569 with 37 HR and a wRC+ of 135. The problem with Bell is that he is a client of well-known MLB agent Scott Boras, who is a very good negotiator and won’t let up until his client gets the contract he is asking for. This does not pair well with Pirates’ history, where their largest contract in terms of guaranteed money has not surpassed $60M. Other players to look at are last season’s rookies Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman. Both had impressive campaigns in their first full years, especially with Reynolds being a candidate for rookie of the year. They will look to steer clear of the sophomore slump. Cole Tucker is another guy to keep an eye on. Tucker, 24, made his major league debut last season and struggled offensively in his first stint, likely due to minimal time with the Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate. He turned the corner a bit in the second half and improved his plate discipline vastly. As of now, Newman has the job at short, so manager Derek Shelton has looked for opportunities for him in the outfield to improve his versatility and to get him at-bats to progress at the plate.

With Jameson Taillon and Chris Archer deemed out for the season, the Pirates’ rotation looks like this: RHPs Joe Musgrove, Trevor Williams, Mitch Keller, and Chad Kuhl; LHPs Derek Holland and Steven Brault. Musgrove is widely considered the “ace” of the team with Taillon out, but he has yet to prove himself as a fully reliable arm on the staff. This is a big year for him to step it up and earn some money with him rumored to have talked with the Bucs about an extension. Williams worked hard in the offseason with first-year pitching coach Oscar Marin, developing a curveball and looking for ways to strike guys out rather than using a pitch-to-contact system that former pitching coach Ray Searage promoted. Mitch Keller, who was ranked the Pirates number one prospect who was recently stripped of his prospect status, is definitely the guy in the rotation to look out for. Keller may have posted a 7.13 ERA in 11 starts last season, but he did have a 3.19 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), meaning that with league average defense behind him, his numbers would have been much better. Keller is one that could highly benefit from the new regime’s emphasis on player development, a department where the “old” front office lacked success.

The Pirates’ bullpen has fallen off since their success in the 2018 season. Edgar Santana is serving a suspension, Felipe Vazquez is behind bars, Keone Kela has been out with COVID-19 struggles, and some players have just regressed or fallen off at this point. Unfortunately, the promising 27-year old RHP Nick Burdi has been ruled for the season with an undisclosed injury as well. There are still a few pieces you want to look out for this year if you are a Pirates’ fan. A surprise to many people so far has been the work of RHP Dovydas Neverauskas. A Lithuanian product, Neverauskas has struggled in limited opportunities since making his Major League debut in 2017. He has always had some solid pitches to work with and is starting to have a breakout season even with only a few appearances under his bet. Neverauskas has allowed two earned runs over 6 innings pitched in 2020 and carries one of the highest spin rates with his curveball at more than 2800 revolutions per minute. Dovydas definitely seems to have benefited from the analytics program set in stone by pitching coach Oscar Marin. One final guy to cover needs to be RHP JT Brubaker. Brubaker has had an injury history that has set him back, and people have seemed to forget about him. JT was the minor league pitcher of the year in the Pirates’ organization in 2018, and made the Opening Day 30-man roster this season coming off of injury in 2019. Now 26, Brubaker has made three appearances thus far, showcasing three swing-and-miss pitches, a rare thing to find in the league today. He is naturally a starting pitcher, so he may eventually make a run for the rotation within the next few seasons, but he will likely be cemented into the bullpen for the time being.

While the Pirates’ chances to bring back Buctober are better with the addition of two playoff spots in each league for 2020, it is clear that this shortened season is meant to be an evaluation year for the new coaching staff and front office. It would be entertaining if the Pirates could be in the mix towards the end of September, and you can still root for them to do so, but realistically the Pirates are far from being competitive, but they are heading in the right direction. There are a handful of players and storylines to look out for this season that should excite you for the future. The future is indeed bright with new and historically successful general manager Ben Cherington, the man that will hopefully lead the Pirates’ franchise to their sixth championship.

Breakout Player #1 (@mlbthrone): OF Willie Calhoun, TEX

This first pick of mine may come as a surprise to many as Calhoun isn’t a big name to the majority of Major League Baseball fans. If we take a look at the standard stats, Calhoun finished with a decent slash line of .269 AVG, .323 OBP, .524 SLG, and a .848 OPS. This doesn’t look like a fantastic year to many so that poses the question: why did I pick him? Well, Calhoun put up 21 HRs and a .848 OPS in only 83 games. Considering that the 2020 MLB season will only be 60 games, those stats line up very well. It’s also worth mentioning that Calhoun did outperform his expected stats by a fairly large margin indicating there could be regression coming. But, this doesn’t take away from the fact that Calhoun would have put up crazy numbers in 2019 if the season was shortened to 60 games. 

Breakout Player #2 (@mlbthrone):  SP Mitch Keller, PIT

My last pick is another unpopular name, which makes a breakout player a breakout player right? Anyway, Mitch Keller’s stats in 2019 on paper look horrendous as he posted a horrific 7.13 ERA and 1.83 WHIP in 48 IP. If you look at the advanced stats though, Keller shines in the majority. He posted a 3.19 FIP, 3.47 xFIP, 4.38 xERA, 12.19 K/9, 1.13 HR/9, and a 3.78 SIERA. Once you look deeper into Keller’s 2019, you c

an see that he got extremely unlucky. His 3.19 FIP was 14th in the entire MLB which is very promising for the young right hander. Keller also ranked 6th in strikeout rate ahead of all-star pitchers like Justin Verlander and Mike Clevinger. The main reason Keller is on here is because of how unlucky he got in 2019 when he only pitched 48 innings. If you take into account his expected stats in the amount of innings he pitched,Keller will have a very stellar 2020 campaign with the 60 game season.

Breakout candidate #3 (@mlbzone_): 1B Christian Walker, ARI 

After the Arizona Diamondbacks traded their former face of the franchise first basemen, Paul Goldschmidt, during the 2018-2019 offseason to the Saint Louis Cardinals, Christian Walker took over as the everyday first basemen in 2019. Walker made the best of his new role as he had a .346 wOBA, 112 wRC+, 112 DRC+ along with a .259/.348/.476 slash line over 152 games. On top of being a decent hitter, Walker showed he’s an outstanding defender as seen by his 9 OAA, 11 DRS, and 2.0 UZR. Although it may seem as Walker has already broken out, he underperformed his expected statistics which leads me to believe he could become an even better hitter in 2020. Walker’s xBA-AVG was .001, his xSLG-SLG was .037 and his xwOBA-wOBA was .014. Another reason I believe Walker could breakout is because he had very good batted ball data. In 2019, Walker’s exit velo was in the 84th percentile, barrel% was in the 90th percentile, and hard hit% was in the 96th percentile. 

Breakout candidate #4 (zone): SS Dansby Swanson, ATL:

Dansby Swanson was the first overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft but he’s yet to establish himself as an all star caliber player. Although Swanson has yet to live up to his hype, he made a significant offensive jump from 2018 to 2019. In 2018, Swanson had a .238/.304/.395 slash compared to a .251/.325/.422 slash in 2019. Swanson’s advanced stats also improved as seen by a .021 point increase in wOBA, 12 point increase in wRC+, 6 point increase in DRC+, a .038 point increase in xBA, a .117 increase in xSLG, and a .065 point increase in xwOBA. Similar to Christian Walker, Swanson underperformed his expected statistics which leads me to believe he could become an even better hitter in 2020. Swanson’s xBA-AVG was .018, his xSLG-SLG was .055 and his xwOBA-wOBA was .028. One final reason I believe Swanson will breakout is because he’s already a good defensive shortstop. Over the past two years combined, Swanson has 12 DRS, a -1.1 UZR, and 4 OAA. Swanson is relatively established as a defender and I believe he will be a breakout hitter; because of this, Swanson will start to gain recognition as one of the better shortstops in all of baseball.

July 16, 2020

In January of 2018, the Pirates traded Cole to the Astros for Joe Musgrove, Colin Moran, Michael Feliz, and Jason Martin. After arriving in Houston, Cole became a star; but how?

Although Gerrit Cole was an ace in Pittsburgh, he wasn’t a star until he was traded to Houston. With the Astros, Cole made a drastic change, featuring his curveball as his tertiary pitch compared to his sinker that he used with the Pirates. In 2016/2017, Cole threw his sinker 14.8% (2016) and 13.1% (2017) of the time, compared to only throwing his sinker 6.0% (2018) and 2.4% (2019) of the time in 2018/2019. Although Cole featured his sinker as his tertiary pitch in both 2016 and 2017, he achieved little success. In 2016, opposing batters had a .359 xwOBA against Cole’s sinker while Cole was only able to generate an 11.5 whiff%. Even after Cole featured his sinker less in 2017, opposing batters still had a very good .345 xwOBA against the pitch. Cole had even less success throwing his sinker, only generating a 10.0 whiff%. Although Cole only threw his curve 9.8% and 12.1% of the time in 2016/2017, he had a lot of success with the pitch. In 2016, opposing batters had a .186 xwOBA against his curve while Cole was able to generate a whopping 40.0 whiff%. Cole’s curve didn’t nearly have the same amount of success in 2017 as it did in 2016 as seen by opposing batters having a .239 xwOBA against the pitch and Cole generating a 25.5 whiff%, it was still very effective. As a result of throwing fewer sinkers, Cole increased the use of his curveball by throwing it 19.2% (2018) and 15.4% (2019) of the time. In 2018, opposing batters had a .243 xwOBA against the pitch while Cole was able to generate a 33.9 whiff%. In 2019, opposing batters had a .251 xwOBA against the pitch while Cole was able to generate a 31.9 whiff%. It’s evident that Cole’s curve in 2018/2019 was more dominant than his sinker in 2016/2017.

The most important adjustment Cole made with the Astros was increasing the spin rate (RPM) on both his four seamer and slider. With the Pirates in 2016/2017, Cole’s four seamer had an average RPM of 2183 (2016) and 2164 (2017) compared to his average RPM of 2379 (2018), and 2530 (2019), with the Astros. Cole also increased the average RPM of his slider with the Astros, with an average RPM of 2571 (2018) and 2622 (2019) with the Astros. Now compare this with his average RPM of 2287 (2016) and (2417) with the Pirates. By increasing the RPM on both pitches, both Cole’s four seamer and slider started to have more rise. Cole utilized his newly created rise by attacking the upper and outer parts of the strike zone. This adjustment helped Cole go from a solid rotational pitcher to a formidable pitcher.

In 2016, opposing batters had a .325 xwOBA against Cole’s four seamer while Cole was only able to generate a 14.0 whiff%. In 2017, opposing batters had a .364 xwOBA against Cole’s sinker while Cole was able to generate a 19.8 whiff%. In 2018, Cole had more success with his four seamer as opposing batters had a .299 xwOBA and Cole was able to generate a 29.7 whiff%. Cole saw improving results with his four seamer as opposing batters had only a .245 xwOBA against the pitch while generating a whopping 37.6 whiff%. With the Pirates, Cole had a phenomenal slider, but the pitch saw major improvements once Cole arrived in Houston. In 2016, opposing batters had a .284 xwOBA against Cole’s slider while Cole generated a 34.6 whiff%. In 2017, opposing batters had a .247 xwOBA against Cole’s slider while Cole generated a 34.3 whiff%. In 2018, opposing batters had a .236 xwOBA against Cole’s slider while Cole generated a 36.2 whiff%. In 2019, opposing batters had very little success against Cole’s slider as seen by a .215 xwOBA while Cole generated an insane 39.9 whiff%.

The MLB has announced if there is a season this year there will be a Universal DH which has been a rumor for a while now for the National League. They are just experimenting for this season and have not said if they will continue with the universal DH for the future.

Who Will Be The Pirates DH?

Colin Moran

Colin Moran was a solid hitter last season with a slash line of 277/322/429 with an OPS of 751 but the hitting isnt the biggest thing that will help the Pirates. The biggest thing is getting him off the field as he was one of the worst fielding 3B in the league. The Pirates could put top prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes at 3B who has won 3 Gold Gloves in the minor leagues and is a solid hitter.

Josh Bell

Josh Bell took the league by storm last season and is now a top 10 1B in the league. He could be another option at DH because he is a below average fielder and the Pirates could put Jose Osuna at 1B who is solid in the field and at the plate.

When the trade happened Pirates fans were in shock that they traded former MVP Andrew McCutchen for 2 prospects who were not highly ranked. After the trade McCutchen was never the same as his MVP type seasons in Pittsburgh but is still a solid player, As of now he’s on the Phillies recovering from an injury.

Kyle Crick as soon as he came to Pittsburgh made a huge impact as he had a career year posting a 2.39 ERA as well with 65 strikeouts in 60.1 innings pitched. In 2019 though he was not the same as he posted a 4.96 ERA with a 1.55 WHIP. Overall though Kyle Crick is a above average reliver and was a good pick up for the Pirates.

Bryan Reynolds did not make his Major League debut until 2019,APR 20. He got called up due to a injury, He wasn’t a top 100 prospect and no one expected much from him. Well he proved everyone wrong as he posted a 314 BA,503 SLG,880 OPS and a 3.9 WAR. He was also 4th in voting for NL ROY behind guys like Pete Alonso and Fernando Tatis JR.

Its safe to say Bryan Reynolds is one of the most underrated players in the MLB and people should start giving him the respect he deserves. In all the Pirates won this trade and got a superstar type player.

April 23, 2020

First overall: Washington Nationals

Original pick: Bryce Harper

Re-Draft pick: Christian Yelich (23)

Although Bryce Harper was the face of the Washington Nationals franchise from 2012-2018, he was a living rollercoaster. Harper has been extremely inconsistent throughout his career which is evident when viewing the range of his best/worst WAR seasons. In 2015, Harper had a 9.3 WAR (153 games) but the following season had only a 2.9 WAR (147 games). Over the past couple of seasons, Christian Yelich has proven to be better than Harper and the rest of the 2010 MLB Draft class. Since 2018, Yelich has put up significantly better offensive and defensive stats compared to Harper:

Christian Yelich: .415 SLG, .631 SLG, 1.046 OPS, .431 wOBA, 170 wRC+, 15.4 WAR, -1 DRS, 1.5 UZR, 0 OAA.

Bryce Harper: .383 SLG, .505 SLG, .888 OPS, .371 wOBA, 130 wRC+, 8.0 WAR, -14 DRS, -4.4 UZR, -12 OAA.

The numbers speak for themselves, Yelich has proven to be much better than Harper over the past couple of season and he’s been consistently good (if not great) throughout his career unlike Harper.

Second overall: Pittsburgh Pirates

Original pick: Jameson Taillon

Re-Draft pick: Jacob deGrom (272)

While Jameson Taillon has been solid throughout his career (so far), he isn’t an elite starter. Unfortunately, Taillon is also injury prone. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014, he is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery he had in August of 2019, and has only thrown more than 150 innings in a season once. Not only has Jacob deGrom proven to be the best pitcher from the 2010 draft class, he also makes a strong case for being the best pitcher in all of baseball. Throughout six seasons in the major leagues (1,101.2 innings), deGrom has a 2.62 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 2.78 FIP, 3.20 SIERA, 10.25 K/9, 2.17 BB/9. These are elite numbers. In addition to his great stats, deGrom has been recognized as an elite pitcher by winning 2014 NL Rookie of the Year, being named to three All Star teams (2015, 2018, 2019), and winning two NL Cy Young Awards (2018 & 2019).

Third overall: Baltimore Orioles

Original pick: Manny Machado

Re-Draft pick: Bryce Harper (1)

Similar to how Bryce Harper was the Nationals franchise player from 2012-2018, Machado was the Orioles franchise player from 2012 up until he was traded at the 2018 trade deadline. Although Machado has been very durable throughout his career, Harper has had a better career. Harper has a higher OBP by 50 points, SLG by 29 points, OPS by 79 points, wOBA by 32 points, wRC+ by 20 points, and WAR by 1.9 points. Although Harper is a much better offensive player, Machado is definitely the better defender. The Orioles would take Harper over Machado in this Re-Draft because he has proven more throughout his career than Machado has.

Fourth overall: Kansas City Royals

Original pick: Christian Colon

Re-Draft pick: Chris Sale (13)

Christian Colon was the first of multiple busts taken within the top 10 picks of the 2010 Draft. Although he showed promise during the 2014 season (21 major league games), Colon has struggled at the plate throughout his career. In 150 major league games, Colon has batted a dismal .321 OBP, .318 SLG, .640 OPS, .287 wOBA, and 76 wRC+. Although he is a terrible hitter, Colon plays serviceable defense and is a good pinch runner. Currently, Colon is in the Cincinnati Reds organization. Chris Sale has had an opposite career to Christian Colon in terms of production at the major league level. Since debuting in 2010, Sale has a career 3.03 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 2.90 FIP, 2.81 SIERA, 11.08 K/9, and 2.07 BB/9. The only thing holding Chris Sale back right now is injuries. Sale has a notoriously “weird” throwing motion but hadn’t faced many injury problems until the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Unfortunately, Sale underwent Tommy John surgery in March and will miss the 2020 season (assuming there is one).

Fifth overall: Cleveland Indians

Original pick: Drew Pomeranz

Re-Draft pick: Manny Machado (3)

Drew Pomeranz isn’t necessarily a bust but looking back, he definitely didn’t deserve to be a top five pick. Pomeranz has had a decent career so far, even making the 2016 All Star team. So far into his career, Pomeranz has a 4.04 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 4.20 FIP, 4.15 SIERA, 9.11 K/9, and 3.86 BB/9. He has solid numbers, but definitely not worthy of being the fifth overall pick. Manny Machado is the most talented player available and the Indians are essentially getting a steal. Machado has proven to be a solid hitter and an elite defender at one of the most important defensive positions in the games. Throughout his career, Machado has averaged a .335 OBP, .483 SLG, .818 OPS, .347 wOBA, 118 wRC+ at the plate; has accumulated a total 74 DRS, 46.2 UZR, -2 OAA (only 2017-2019 because it’s a new stat) in the field; and has a total of WAR of 33.2.

Sixth overall: Arizona Diamondbacks

Original pick: Barret Loux

Re-Draft pick: Yasmani Grandal (12)

Unfortunately for the Diamondbacks, Barret Loux was a bust. After surprising many by taking Loux sixth overall (he was a projected to be drafted at the end of the first round), the Diamondbacks never even signed him. The Diamondbacks and Loux agreed to a pre-draft $2 million signing bonus but when Loux failed his physical, the Diamondbacks never offered him a contract and instead took a compensation pick in the beginning of the 2011 draft. Loux played in the Rangers organization, Cubs organization, and in an Independent League but never made it the majors and hasn’t played professionally since 2016. Yasmani Grandal has had a great major league career so far and is one of, if not the best catcher in baseball. While people may argue J.T. Realmuto is better, most stats are in favor of Grandal:

Yasmani Grandal career stats (879 games): .348 OBP, .446 SLG, .794 OPS, .361 wOBA, 118 wRC+, 70 DRS, 134.1 FRM, 32.6 WAR (offensive stats are a yearly average, defensive stats are career total)

J.T. Realmuto career stats (685 games): .327 OBP, .452 SLG, .779 OPS, .332 wOBA, 108 wRC+, -3 DRS, -17.1 FRM, 17.2 WAR (offensive stats are a yearly average, defensive stats are career total)

You can also see a stat comparison between Grandal and Realmuto from just the 2018-2019 season on @mlbzone_ Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/p/B9nH62DFSRc/) from March 11, 2020.

Seventh overall: New York Mets

Original pick: Matt Harvey

Re-Draft pick: Noah Syndergaard (38)

Even though Matt Harvey at one point was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, injuries have held him back. Harvey originally debuted at the end of the 2012 season but became a star during 2013. Harvey was named a 2013 All Star but unfortunately missed the entire 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery. In 2015, Harvey returned to peak form as he was the ace of the Mets (who made it to the World Series) and won 2015 Comeback Player of the Year. Ever since the 2015 season, Harvey was never the same. He has delt with injuries and hasn’t been able to pitch anywhere close to how he did in 2013 or 2015. Coincidently, Noah Syndergaard was a teammate of Matt Harvey. Although he was drafted by the Blue Jays, Syndergaard was traded to the Mets in the R.A. Dickey blockbuster trade. Ever since debuting for the Mets, Syndergaard has been one of the Mets’ best pitchers and has proven to be a quality starter (when healthy). Throughout his career (716.0 innings), Syndergaard has a 3.31 ERA, .1.16 WHIP, 2.92 FIP, 3.37 SIERA, 9.74 K/9, 2.09 BB/9. The one set back Syndergaard has had in his career are injuries. Syndergaard missed most of the 2017 season due to a torn lat muscle and is expected to miss the entire 2020 season (if there is one) after having Tommy John surgery.

Eighth overall: Houston Astros

Original pick: Delino DeShields Jr

Re-Draft pick: J.T. Realmuto (104)

Delino DeShields Jr has been a solid depth player throughout his career but he definitely wasn’t worth being a top 10 draft selection. DeShields ended up in the Texas Rangers organization via the Rule 5 draft and had been part of the Rangers organization until he was traded to the Indians this past winter. In his five total MLB seasons (539 games), DeShields has only been able to accumulate a 4.8 WAR. J.T. Realmuto has been much more successful in his major league tenure. Realmuto is a 2x All Star (2018, 2019), 2x Silver Slugger (2018, 2019) and 1x Gold Glove winner (2019). Over the past few years, one of the Astros’ biggest needs has (and still is) a catcher. Had they drafted Realmuto, the Astros would’ve had an even stronger lineup compared to the powerhouse they have now.

Ninth overall: San Diego Padres

Original pick: Karsten Whitson

Re-Draft pick: Adam Eaton (571)

After being drafted ninth overall, Karsten Whiston decided to attend college instead of signing with the Padres. Unfortunately for Whitson, he was again projected to be a high selection in the 2013 MLB Draft but he had shoulder surgery and was selected in the 37th round. A year later, he was selected in the 11th round and played one season of class A short season. Whitson hasn’t appeared in another minor league game and is now an assistant coach for South Florida (NCAA). Throughout his career, Adam Eaton has been one of baseball’s most underrated outfielders. Eaton has averaged a .363 OBP, .428 SLG, .781 OPS, .342 wOBA, 114 wRC+ accumulated a total 6 DRS, 5.8 UZR, 14 OAA (only 2017-2019 because it’s a new stat), and has a career 19.3 WAR.

Tenth overall: Oakland Athletics

Original pick: Michael Choice

Re-Draft pick: Nick Castellanos (44)

Michael Choice was a bust. Choice made his debut as a September call up back in 2013 but didn’t show much potential. Choice was traded to the Rangers in the 2013 offseason and appeared in 86 Major League games in the 2014 season. Since 2014, Choice has only played in one major league game and has bounced around the Minor Leagues, the KBO, and the Mexican League. Nick Castellanos has become an explosive offensive player since 2016. From 2016-2019, Castellanos has averaged a .336 OBP, .504 SLG, .840 OPS, .353 wOBA, 121 wRC+ and accumulated a 9.7 WAR over those four season. Although he is explosive offensively, he’s not a very good defender. In his career, Castellanos has a -35 DRS in the outfield, -38 DRS at third base, -26.2 UZR in the outfield, -25.8 UZR at third base, and a -45 OAA (only 2017-2019 because it’s a new stat). Luckily, the A’s are an American League and would have the option to make Castellanos the DH.

Re-Draft Board

Featured image via camdenchat.com