Rule 5 Draft Prospect Profile: Cam Vieaux
At just 22-years old, left-handed pitcher Can Vieaux had already built himself an impressive baseball resume. He had already led the Michigan State Spartans to the Big Ten Playoffs three times and was the school's all-time leader in wins (17) and strikeouts (206). He had already been drafted once in the 2015 MLB Draft, but didn't sign and returned to college for another year. The move ended up working out for the lefty as he put together the best year of his college career and turned some heads after putting up good but not great numbers in his first three years as a Spartan.
He went 7-4 with a 2.28 ERA in 15 games, 14 starts, and struck out 77 batters in 82 innings of work while walking just 19. The effort helped raise his draft stock significantly as he was taken in the sixth round of the 2016 draft by the Pirates. He has been working his way up through the Pirates system as a starter and has progressively gotten better year in and year out. He has made it all the way to Triple-A and was another guy who was on the cusp of making his Major League debut. However, not having a Minor League season ended up hurting Vieaux and he instead stayed in satellite camp for the entire season. Now, on the cusp of cracking the Major Leagues do the Pirates protect Vieaux in the draft or risk losing him to another team.
Vieaux Progressively Getting Stronger
When the Pirates drafted Cam Vieaux out of Michigan State, he already had some good stuff in his arsenal. Vieaux is a fastball pitcher who likes to work up in the zone, and features a low to mid-90s fastball, balanced out by a few good off-speed pitches. The Pirates saw his potential and started him off with Short Season West Virginia Black Bears in 2016. He made 14 starts for the Black Bears that season and ended up going 2-2 with a 3.33 ERA in 67.2 innings of work. He is a fly ball pitcher by trade, but initially, he was able to miss bats and allowed just two home runs during that first season. He struck out 18.1% of the batters he faced that season and his walk rate, 7.8%, and opponent batting average, .246, were both pretty standard. With Vieaux showing that he could pitch at the Big League level, he earned a promotion to Low-A Ball in 2017.
He started the year with the Power and in 11 starts went 2-3 with a 2.73 ERA. He continued to do a nice job of keeping the ball in the ballpark and used his high fastball to his advantage. He wasn't necessarily blowing it by hitters, but he was getting them to swing under the ball and generate soft contact. For his efforts, he was named a 2017 South Atlantic League All-Star. He also earned a promotion to Advanced-A Bradenton by season's end and was thrown into the Marauders starting rotation. The promotion saw him struggle in 13 starts pitching to a 4.63 ERA in 78.2 innings of work. One of his biggest problems was that his elevated pitches were getting hit out of the park as he gave up a career-high eight home runs during the season.
Because of these struggles, Vieaux remained in the Florida State League and saw great improvement during his second season. He went 4-1 with a 3.81 ERA in 10 starts with the Marauders that season. His fastball was gaining more velocity and he was learning how to locate it better than ever before. As a result, his strikeout percentage jumped from 15-18% up to 22% during the 2018 season. The home runs were still coming, with nine allowed on the season, but he was allowing them with no one on base to limit the damage. Vieaux got his first taste of Double-A ball at the end of the season and made the transition almost flawlessly going 9-5 with a 3.59 ERA in 15 starts.
He was with Altoona once again in 2019, and it was looking like his progression was going smoothly. He started the year off hot and went 2-2 with a 2.86 ERA in seven games pitched for the Curve and struck out 37 batters in his first 50.1 innings of work. He did so well that the Pirates decided to promote him to Triple-A Indianapolis to give him a chance to shine at the highest level of the Minor Leagues. However, the transition didn't go well as Vieaux pitched to a 5.05 ERA in 13 starts for the Indians. The home run ball that killed him in seasons prior hurt him again as he gave up 15 home runs in 62.1 innings of work. He had to be sent down to Double-A and finished his season in the Curve starting rotation.
Vieaux's New Showing
With no 2020 Minor League season, Vieaux didn't get the opportunity to show that he has fixed the home run problems that plagued him in 2019. Because of this, I don't see any team jumping on Vieaux in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft meaning the Pirates shouldn't have to clear a 40-man roster spot for him. If Vieaux wants to continue to work up in the zone as he climbs the Minor League ladder, he is going to have to work on changing speeds and becoming more deceptive with his breaking balls in the upper part of the zone. If he can get a good downward working off-speed pitch that will allow him to change the batter's eye level.
Vieaux's biggest thing to work on in 2020 is going to be to keep the ball in the yard. While People's Natural Gas Field in Altoona is a pitcher-friendly park, Victory Field in Indianapolis plays more to the hitter. It will be an adjustment for the 26-year-old fly ball pitcher, but if he can learn to limit the damage, there is always a spot on a Major League roster for a young left-handed pitcher. The short porch in PNC Park might offer him a challenge one day, but Vieaux is continuing to improve each season and make his case as a top prospect in the Pirates organization.
Comments
Post a Comment