DALTON FRIEND
LEFT HANDED PITCHER
  Born: July 4, 1990
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 230
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Drafted: 12th Round, 376th Overall, 2012
How Acquired: Draft
College: Jefferson College (JC MO)
Agent: N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES
Friend has had some injury problems, including arm trouble in high school, shoulder surgery that cost him most of 2011, and a sore elbow that caused him to miss a little time in 2012.  He pitched in 2012 as a redshirt sophomore.  He was reported to be throwing 95, but scouts only saw him throwing 89-91.  He throws three other pitches, but will probably be a reliever and rely just on a fastball and curve.  His strikeout rate was fourth nationally and Baseball America ranked him the 328th best draft prospect.  He had a Texas Tech commitment, but he agreed to terms shortly after the draft.  He does not appear to be related to long-time Pirates stalwart Bob Friend.

2012
A-:  3-2-0, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 40.1 IP, 1.8 BB/9, 7.6 K/9

Friend got off to a horrific start at State College:  In his first appearance he faced six batters and retired none, with all six ultimately scoring.  Over the rest of the season, though, he posted a 1.12 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP.  His strikeout rate wasn’t at the level he’d posted in JC ball, but his control improved.  Oddly, he had a big reverse platoon split; left-handed batters hit .311 against him and right-handed batters .206, albeit in a small sample size.  He pitched mainly in short outings, but he made a start in his next-to-last game and went four and a third, then made a five-inning relief appearance in his last game.

Friend is one of the Pirates’ more interesting prospects from the 2012 draft.  The Pirates could try him as a starter in 2013 to get him more innings, although that’ll depend heavily on how they feel about his durability.  It was disappointing, though, that he wasn’t on any roster at the start of the 2013 season.  Hopefully he’ll appear at West Virginia at some point.
STATS
Baseball Reference–Minors
Fangraphs
MiLB.com
NJCAA
W-L-Sv
G
IP
H
BB
K
WHIP
ERA
2010 5-1-0 20 36.0 28 9 46 1.03 3.75
2011 3-0-0 4 23.0 17 6 27 1.00 2.35
2012 11-0-1 15 46.0 37 22 68 1.28 2.94
CONTRACT INFORMATION
2013: Minor league contract.
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut: 2012
MLB Debut:
MiLB FA Eligible: 2018
MLB FA Eligible:
Rule 5 Eligible: 2015
Added to 40-Man:
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
June 5, 2012: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 12th round, 376th overall pick; signed on June 13.