In late January, the Pittsburgh Pirates made an unpopular move when they traded outfielder Travis Snider to the Baltimore Orioles for two minor league pitchers.
Snider was coming off a great second half to the 2014 season, and looked like he could challenge Gregory Polanco for the starting right field job.
Now, seven months later, that trade looks like a steal for the Pirates.
It is easy to say the Pirates were the winners of the trade simply because Snider did not last a full year with the Orioles after being released by them on Saturday. But the Pirates would have made off well even if Snider had done better in Baltimore; Snider being released was just the icing on the cake.
No, the big reason the Pirates made off so well in the trade is because of whom they got back: pitchers Steven Brault and Stephen Tarpley.
Prior to the deal, the Pirates had a shortage of left-handed pitching prospects. Joely Rodriguez was dealt for Antonio Bastardo not long before the Snider move, 2013 second-round pick Blake Taylor was traded for Ike Davis the previous season and the rest of the Pirates left-handed prospects had yet to show much promise.
Enter Brault and Tarpley. The duo came over with the hope that at least one would give the Pirates a viable left-handed pitching prospect, and so far both have delivered.
Tarpley has been nothing short of outstanding for Class A West Virginia. In 16 starts, the 22-year-old has gone 10-2 with a 2.14 ERA, with an 8.49 K/9 ratio. In his most recent start Saturday, he threw eight shutout innings for the Power and did not walk a single batter.
He does well at mixing up his fastball that can reach 97 MPH and changeup, while also adding in a slider and curveball. Tarpley does well locating his fastball on the corners and in the lower third of the strike zone, allowing him to inducing a lot of ground balls over his last handful of starts. The biggest thing for him is to keep developing his off-speed pitches, which have yet to become consistent strikeout pitches.
Tarpley likely will spend the rest of the year with the Power, and should move up to High-A Bradenton in 2016. He could reach the majors as early as 2017, and projects as a middle of the rotation starter.
Brault started the year in Bradenton, and was promoted to Double-A Altoona in mid-June.
The 23-year-old is not as highly regarded as a prospect as Tarpley, but still has done well in his own right.
In eleven starts with the Curve, Brault is 6-3 with a 2.63 ERA. He has lived up to his reputation as a good control pitcher, having only walked 15 in 61.2 innings in AA.
Brault does not possess a powerful fastball, which tops out at around 92 MPH, so being able to locate his pitches well is his biggest key to success going forward. He also throws a changeup and slider, both that sit around the low 80s in speed. The 9.41 K/9 ratio Brault has may not carry over to Triple-A or the majors because his stuff is not overpowering, however he should still strikeout his fair share of batters due to his excellent command.
There is a chance that Brault joins the Pirates at some point in 2016, though that may be difficult with all the talent ahead of him. Brault projects as a backend of the rotation pitcher and could remind some of Jeff Locke. Both are left-handers that are capable of putting together quality starts without blowing away hitters, though Brault’s superior command would likely make him more reliable than Locke.
Left-handed starting pitching prospects are one of the most sought after commodity in baseball, and the Pirates turned a good half of baseball from Snider into not one, but two of those prospects. Tarpley and Brault could one day be in the Pirates rotation together, or at least used as future trade pieces.
And if that is not enough, the Pirates have shown interest in bringing back Snider. If that were to happen, the Pirates would then have essentially gotten Tarpley and Brault for free (and don’t forget they also have Brad Lincoln, who was originally traded for Snider in 2012). If nothing else, the Snider trade shows a great use of selling high on assets by the Pirates.
