10. Zach Von Rosenberg, RHP
2009 Season: Rather than selecting a high school arm in the first round and paying a huge bonus, the Pirates decided to load up on high school pitchers on day two of the draft, signing guys who were highly rated talents, but fell due to signability concerns. The main pitcher was Zach Von Rosenberg, who was rated the 41st prospect in the draft by Baseball America, and fell to the Pirates with the 175th overall pick.
Von Rosenberg put up a 0.60 ERA in 93 innings pitched in his senior year at Zachary High School, with 141 strikeouts and 18 walks. He was the top recruit to Louisiana State University, and the chances of the Pirates signing him didn't look good due to LSU's National Championship.
Early in the signing process it looked like ZVR was dead set on going to LSU. At one point he bought a one way ticket to the school, sending a suggestive message that he might stay. Von Rosenberg never fully committed though, and even visited the Pirates at PNC Park one weekend. The indecision prompted LSU's coach to place a deadline on ZVR. It was probably coincidental that ZVR signed with the Pirates around that deadline, receiving a $1.2 M signing bonus. The bonus is the 15th highest bonus in Pirates' draft history, and the biggest bonus awarded by the Pirates after the third round.
Because ZVR signed late, he only pitched one inning in the Gulf Coast League. The inning was a perfect inning, with a strikeout, coming in the final days of the season.
Information: Von Rosenberg is a 6' 5", 205 pound right hander who throws in the 88-91 MPH range. That doesn't scream "top prospect", although two things exist that could bring a velocity increase for ZVR. The first factor is his projectable frame and his clean delivery. The second is his dedication to pitching. ZVR played shortstop on his days off, which can have an impact on his velocity by preventing his arm from being fresh.
ZVR's fastball has good life, and he controls the pitch well. He also has a curveball with nice depth, and a changeup with deception. He has command of all three pitches, all of which are quality offerings. Because he commands his pitches well, he should start off at an advanced level, kind of like we saw with Quinton Miller in 2009. He could also move quickly through the system, that is, quickly for a prep pitcher.
Out of all of the high school arms the Pirates drafted this year, ZVR has the best chance of emerging as a top of the rotation starter. Right now he's all projection and scouting reports, but a solid debut as a pro in 2010 could propel him to the top of the rankings this time next year.
2010 Expectations: ZVR could take the same approach as Quinton Miller, spending time in extended Spring Training, combined with a brief stay in State College before spending the final months of the season in West Virginia. I fully expect him to be in West Virginia at some point this season.
Optimistic Projection: Any projection on ZVR is based purely on scouting reports and potential, although the reports are all great, and the potential can go as high as a top of the rotation starter, so an optimistic projection would be that ZVR becomes the ace the Pirates have been lacking since Doug Drabek.
Conservative Projection: Since ZVR's future is based on scouting reports and potential, we can't bank too much on that optimistic projection. A more conservative projection would be a middle of the rotation starter.
Check back tomorrow for prospect number 9...
