Rule 5 Draft Prospect Profile: Blake Weiman
Over the last three years, relief pitcher Blake Weiman has been on the move in the Pirates organization. He has played for five teams over the last two seasons, going from Short-Season West Virginia all the way to Triple-A Indianapolis. At 25-years old, he is on the verge of becoming Major League ready and is developing into a mid to late-inning reliever. The shut down of the Minor League season in 2020 slowed his progress slightly, but he was one of the many pitchers who worked at the Pirates satellite camp during the 2020 season. He is a left-hander with good control, which is hard to come by, and you can never have enough left-handed pitchers available in your bullpen.
On the Pirate's current roster, they only have four left-handed pitchers total (Steven Brault, Sam Howard, Nik Turley, and Austin Davis). Brault is obviously a starting rotation candidate and Weiman would give the Pirates four left-hander to compete in camp this season. With Weiman in his first season of Rule 5 Draft eligibility, we will see just how important the left-hander is to the Pirates. If left unprotected, it is likely that a team will come in and take Weiman. A left-handed pitcher is an enticing option for any team and Weiman was making a case for the Pirates bullpen last year. You can never have too many lefties and the Pirates have to decide if Weiman is in their future plans, or if they can risk letting him go to another organization.
Fast-Paced Minor League Life
Weiman has always been a coveted arm at whatever level he has pitched, but he wasn't always the star of the team. When he pitched for Kansas in the Big 12, his first two years on the mound were a struggle. During his first two seasons at Kansas, he had an ERA over six and was getting smacked around by his opponents. However, a move to the bullpen gave him that taste of success that he was looking for during his senior year. He appeared in 30 games for the Jayhawks that season and went 5-1 with a 2.80 ERA over 45 innings of work. He struck out a career-high 55 batters in 45 innings of work and dropped his opponent batting average to .245 and caught the eyes of scouts. The Pittsburgh Pirates would capitalize taking Weiman in the eighth round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
Weiman would start his professional career where most college prospects start, Class A Short-Season West Virginia. He found a place in the Black Bears bullpen and got right to work going 4-3 with a 3.78 ERA in 21 games while earning one save. He was used in one to two inning situations and his control was his best feature as he walked just over 2% of the batters he faced. His opponent batting average was higher than you would like to see at .273, but he was striking out just over 25% of the batters he faced. Being a lefty, he did much better work against left-handed batters, allowing an OPS of .571, which was nearly 200 points lower than when he faces right-handers.
The Pirates didn't feel like they saw enough from Weiman during his first season, so they sent him back to the Black Bears in 2018. Weiman was motivated to move out of Morgantown, and he went off going 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA over 14 appearances that season. He posted as many strikeouts in 14 games as he had the entire 2017 season, raising his strikeout rate to 33.3% of hitters while walking just two. His dominance not only promoted him but allowed him to skip right to Advanced-A Bradenton. His ERA went up to the mid-threes, but his success just kept on coming as he went 2-1 with a 3.90 ERA in 22 games for the Marauders. His opponent batting average raised to .260, but he was still striking out more than a batter an inning. An injury at Double-A Altoona moved him to the Curve to end the season and he threw three scoreless outings to end his season.
He impressed the Curve coaching staff and returned to Double-A full-time to start the 2019 season. He dominated the Eastern League going 1-2 with a 1.86 ERA in 16 games. It was the second time in his career that he posted a sub-two ERA and opponents had a career-low .164 batting average against him. He also posted single-digit walk numbers for the third year in a row as he had pinpoint control of his fastball and breaking pitches. He was moved up to Triple-A Indianapolis at the end of 2019 and saw his first bump in the road. He appeared in eight games for the Indians and went 0-1 with a 4.63 ERA in 11.1 innings of work. He wasn't getting pitches by hitters as consistently and walked four batters in 11.1 innings of work. He is primed for a return to Triple-A in 2021 and possibly making his Major League debut.
Protecting Weiman
With Weiman being already close to Major League ready, he is an asset that if the Pirates don't want to lose they should probably protect. He has shown dominant command throughout his professional career and has a good strikeout rate. He looks to factor into the Pirates' 2021 bullpen plans, giving some of those left-handers some competition in Spring Training. If he is in those plans, the Pirates will have to add him to the 40-man roster anyway. Even if he doesn't make the Major League bullpen, he can still be on the roster so that the Pirates can easily bring him up to the Big League roster.
As far as where Weiman will start in 2021, he will probably end up back in Triple-A to iron out his struggles. A 4.63 ERA is not what you want to see from one of your top relief pitching prospects and Weiman will have to prove that he is better than that suggests. However, if the Pirates suffer injuries the way they have the last couple of seasons, look for Weiman to be one of the first names called to the MLB. Weiman's control will be a welcome sight to the Pirates bullpen, and it gives them another left-handed option to turn to if they need him. The Pirates should see Weiman in PNC Park sometime this season, and to do that they should move him to the 40-man roster.
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