Our Pirates Draft Preview
Last year's Amateur Draft was, for first time in years, nothing short of a success. President Frank Coonelly and GM Neal Huntington banded together to sign Vanderbilt's Pedro Alvarez with the second overall pick. While the organization missed out on the flamethrower Tanner Scheppers in the second round, Alvarez's signing was enough to win over the fans.
The Pirates have many options to choose from with their fourth overall pick in the upcoming June draft. Management is going hard after Dominican infield prospect Miguel Angel Sano, but according to various sources, the Bucs "won't go cheap" in order to sign him.
Below, we've listed our four favorite possible draft picks for Pittsburgh:
RHP Aaron Crow, Fort Worth Cats: Drafted by the Nationals in the 1st round (ninth overall pick) of the 2008 draft but did not sign... pitched this season for the Fort Worth Cats ... fastball varies from 91-95 MPH and can has occasionally looked like a major league sinker ... Crow's "super" slider is probably his best pitch ... aggressive on the mound, but has been seen "nibbling" the strike zone recently ... both Crow and right-hander Scheppers revived their draft spots this year by pitching in indy ball.
RHP Kyle Gibson, Missouri: 6'6" and very skinny... can throw each of his three pitches (fastball, slider, changeup) for strikes ... fastball hits 91-93 MPH and sinks more than anything else... cool poise out on the mound.
RHP Alex White, North Carolina: Drafted by the Dodgers in the 14th round of the 2006 draft but did not sign... spent three more seasons at North Carolina... fastball ranges from 89-95 MPH, usually sits at 91 MPH... shaky control due to an imperfect delivery... has potential to be a front-line major league starter.
SS Grant Green, USC: Bucs may decide to draft a bat, and Green would be an excellent choice ... potential to be a five-tool infielder like Tampa Bay's Evan Longoira ... sometimes impatient at the plate, but has saved himself with an inside-out swing ... projected to hit 15-20 homeruns ... solid base runner and should be able to steal his share of bases ... strong defender up the middle with the ability to make accurate throws down to first ... has also been compared to Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki.
Other names to consider: LHP Mike Minor (Vanderbilt), RHP Zach Wheeler (East Paulding HS, Dallas, Ga.), RHP Shelby Miller (Brownwood HS, Texas), OF Donovan Tate (Cartersville HS, Ga.)
Information was gathered from both MLB.com and Baseball America.
Leave a comment