When the Pirates opened up a second roster spot this week by putting Ashton Goudeau on waivers, it seemed very likely that they would emerge from Thursday’s Rule 5 draft with two players.
That ended up being the case, as they selected right-hander Jose Soriano with the first overall pick in the draft and then traded for the Mets’ pick, right-hander Luis Oviedo.
Oviedo was acquired for cash considerations or a player to be named later.
Here is what you need to know about the two righties:
JOSE SORIANO
Soriano, 22, was ranked as the Angels’ 12th best prospect before the season and MLB Pipeline’s 13th best at the time of the draft.
“This is an exciting guy,” Ben Cherington said in a Zoom call with reporters Thursday. “Physical, really fast arm, high velocity, power breaking ball. He performed well at the in the Midwest League as a pretty young guy. Like with every young pitcher, there's improvement to be to be made, working on control and command and that kind of thing. First thing is just to make sure he's back in a good spot, health-wise.”
Don’t expect to see him in a Pirates uniform opening day, though, because he had Tommy John surgery in February. A Rule 5 pick needs to be on the roster the whole season, but also needs to be active for at least 90 days before they shed their Rule 5 status. Unless the Pirates activate him by July 6, that won’t happen in 2021. For a pitcher Soriano’s age, the recovery time from Tommy John is about 14-16 months, which would put him in line for a return anywhere from April to June.
Cherington said all reports of his rehab have been positive. He was rehabbing at the Angels’ spring training site up until October, and he had “gotten pretty far” in his throwing program.
Before the surgery, his fastball sat comfortably in the mid-90s and flirted with triple digits at times.
Baseball America praises his curve, saying he has “advanced feel” for what they consider a high-spin pitch, but FanGraphs’ prospect board rankings lists the pitch with a spin rate of 2,300 RPM, which is below average for curves. Regardless of spin, FanGraphs still grades it as a plus pitch, as do Baseball America and MLB Pipeline.
Soriano also mixes in a changeup, which Baseball America notes is a swing-and-miss offering.
The concerns around Soriano are his experience, since he has never pitched above class A, health and, perhaps most importantly, his control. He has averaged 5.1 walks per nine innings in his career, including nearly 15% of his batters faced in 2019.
In their Rule 5 recap, Baseball America writes of Soriano: “He still growing into his body after a blooming late physically, so the hope is his control will improve as he grows into his body and improves the timing and mechanics of his delivery.”
Watching video on him, it looks like he simplified some of his front side mechanics in his delivery, eliminating a step during his windup and instead going straight to home plate. Old video of him can be found here, and here he is in 2019:
Soriano pitched in class A in 2019, going 5-6 with a 2.55 ERA over 77 2/3 innings, primarily as a starter. There could be a chance for him to start in the majors somewhere down the line, but for now, focusing on his health is the main priority. As a result, he should debut as a reliever first.
LUIS OVIEDO
A year ago, teams passed on Oviedo, 21, in the Rule 5 draft after he posted a 5.38 ERA in class A.
Even though he was not invited to the Indians’ satellite camp this year, a strong showing in the Venezuelan Winter League was enough to make him one of the first players taken in this draft, even if the goal was to ship him to the Pirates.
Cherington said Oviedo’s performances in the Venezuelan winter league was a factor why they acquired him.
“We’ve been able to watch those outings and get some data. It's encouraging,” Cherington said.
Cherington added that he thought a back injury in 2019 impacted Oviedo’s performance, but that it shouldn’t have a long-term impact.
“What we’re seeing recently now in Venezuela is that the stuff has picked back up,” Cherington said. “He’s in the high-90s and throwing the harder breaking ball. Looks really healthy.”
FanGraphs rates Oviedo as a 45-grade prospect, making him the highest rated pitcher available by their scouting. Baseball America and MLB Pipeline are a little less bullish, ranking him as the Indians’ 21st and 25th best prospects, respectively.
However, Baseball America did grade him as the Indians’ 8th best prospect as recently as 2019, the same year they said he had the best fastball in the Indians’ farm system.
“There's some good rebound potential here with Oviedo, who has a chance to stick around in a bullpen role this year for a non-competitive team, so this is a nice pickup by the Pirates,” Baseball America writes.
He has both a four-seamer and two-seamer at his disposal, and while a curve is his primary breaking ball, he is working on a slider as well. Per FanGraphs’ data tracking, his breaking pitch is measured at 2,350 RPM, which is fine for a slider but on the low side for a curve.
From the most recent video available in 2019, he has a very straightforward delivery, wasting very little energy during his windup:
Oviedo has also filled out a bit since that video. He is listed at 170 pounds, but is closer to 200 now.
Like Soriano, Oviedo could potentially be a starter in the future, but since he has not faced hitters in the upper levels of the minors, he will be used a reliever first.
“Oviedo has the pitches to be a starter and certainly has the pitches to be a multi-inning reliever,” Cherington said. “If he's doing what he's capable of doing, we think he’ll have a chance to do that in the major leagues and 2021. We will certainly give him every opportunity to do that. In the longer term we still think this guy's chance to start.”
Even though the Pirates traded for Oviedo, he is still subject to all Rule 5 conditions. He has to make the team or be offered back to the Indians.