The Pirates have been busy making minor moves over the last few weeks. The team has signed Andrew Potter, Zane Chavez and Jose Barraza from independent ball.
Potter, a 22 year old right handed pitcher from the United Shore Pro Baseball League, was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2012. He spent four seasons in the Diamondbacks organization but never played higher than rookie ball.
Potter pitched in 18 games in the Frontier League in 2016 while splitting time between the Southern Illinois Miners and Evansville Otters. He had a combined ERA of 10.59 in 17 IP before being released in July. He then went on to play with the Utica Unicorns of the USPBL. He fared much better there where he posted a 1.09 ERA with 19 strikeouts and only 3 walks in 19 innings.
Chavez, a 29 year old catcher from the Laredo Lemurs of the American Association, was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 2005 but elected to attend college. After his college career ended, he played four seasons of indy ball (Can-Am: New Hampshire, Pittsfield, and New Jersey and American Association: Grand Prairie and El Paso) before signing with the Baltimore Orioles organization in 2013. Chavez played two seasons in the Orioles organization, reaching as high as AA before returning to indy ball.
For the 2015 season, he rejoined Grand Prairie where he had a .288 avg and 41 RBI in 80 games. In 2016, Chavez batted .260 with 38 RBI in 70 games for the Lemurs.
Barraza, a 22 year old catcher/first baseman, was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2012. He was in the White Sox organization from 2012 to 2014 where he played rookie/A ball.
After being released during spring training in 2015, Barraza turned to indy ball where he joined the Lake Erie Crushers of the Frontier League. In 187 games over two seasons with the Crushers, he collected 100 RBI with a .279 average while splitting time between catcher and first base.
Indy Ball Island 