Pirates sign first-round pick Reese McGuire
By Matt Shetler
The Pittsburgh Pirates have already accomplished something they failed to do last season- sign their first round pick.
After being unable to ink Stanford pitcher Mark Appel a season ago, Neal Huntington and the Pirates struck quickly this season by inking their second of two first round picks, catcher Reese McGuire to a deal.
McGuire, a high school catcher out of Washington, was selected 14th overall in this month’s First-Year Player Draft. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Travis Sawchik reports that he’s slated to receive a bonus around $2.56 million, which is about $200K under slot value for the pick.
The 18-year old was the top rated catcher in this year’s draft after hitting .436 with four home runs this season. He was the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Washington.
"“This is a dream come true for all of us as a family,” McGuire told Sawchik. “I couldn’t be more proud to become a Pirate, and the confidence for the organization to choose me in the draft is very overwhelming. It’s awesome and I’m looking forward to getting started.”"
McGuire will start his career in the short-season Gulf Coast League, but could advance to short-season Jamestown at the end of their season if he does well in Florida.
His signing means the Pirates have already signed 16 of their 2013 draft picks, including second round pick Blake Taylor.
While McGuire is in the fold, the Pirates have yet to sign No. 9 overall pick Austin Meadows. The 18-year-old outfielder was a compensation pick for failing to sign Appel.