Pittsburgh Pirates At MLB Draft: Day Three Selections
By Larry Snyder
Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington and his staff had their work cut out for them at the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. They were selecting more toward the latter part of the draft because of the team’s success at the Major League level.
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The players obtained over the last three days go through a lengthy development process in the Pittsburgh farm system. By the time most of them are ready to move on to PNC Park, the composition of the Pirates’ roster could look vastly different.
Last June, they opted for shortstop Cole Tucker from Mountain Pointe High School in Ahwatukee, Arizona with the 24th pick of the first round. This summer he is playing for the Single-A West Virginia Power of the South Atlantic League.
The Pirates made 41 selections with 36 of them coming from the college ranks. They took just five high school players and two prep pitchers. They have a Projected Pool of $7,392,588 to work with according to Jim Callis at MLB.com.
Pittsburgh Pirates
This is how Day 1 went on Monday. With the 19th pick overall in the first round, the Pirates elected to choose shortstop Kevin Newman from the University of Arizona.
Next, they chose third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes from Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball, Texas with the 32nd pick overall in the first round. The Bucs acquired a Compensation Pick at No. 32 because the Toronto Blue Jays signed free agent Russell Martin.
Pittsburgh wrapped up the first day by taking shortstop Kevin Kramer from UCLA with the 62nd pick overall in the second round. You can catch up on these fresh faces of the Pirates Family here on City of Champions Sports.
Here is the list of players the Bucs drafted Tuesday. Each of the eight picks on Day 2 came out of the college ranks. For more information on these future crew members of the Jolly Roger, you can check out my recap here on City Of Champions Sports.
3) Casey Hughston – LF – 6’2″/205lbs – Bats Left/ Throws Right – University of Alabama
4) Jacob Taylor – RHP – 6’3″/205lbs – R/R – Pearl River Community College (MS)
5) Brandon Waddell – LHP – 6’3″/180lbs – L/L – University of Virginia
6) Jonathan Brubaker – RHP – 6’4″/175lbs – R/R – University of Akron (OH)
7) Mitchell Tolman – 3B – 5’11” 195lbs – L/R – University of Oregon
8) Seth McGarry – RHP – 6’0″/180lbs – R/R – Florida Atlantic University
9) Bret Helton – RHP – 6’3″/215lbs – R/R – University of Utah
10) Logan Sendelbach – RHP – 6’3″/185lbs – R/R – Tiffin University (OH)
“You can always dream on the high school guy. The college player, in theory, is always the safer pick,” Huntington said on the Pirates web site. “There’s benefits and drawbacks to each. The new [Draft] system creates more balance naturally for each club. You kind of weigh all the variables as you go to make each pick.”
These are the players selected by the Pirates on Wednesday:
11) Christian Kelley – C – 5’11″/185lbs – Bats Left/Throws Right – University of Cal Poly Pomona (CA)
12) Ty Moore – RF – 6’0″/190lbs – L/R – UCLA
13) Logan Ratledge – SS – 5’11″/190lbs – R/R – North Carolina State
14) Chris Plitt – RHP – 6’4″/170lbs – R/R – South Mountain Community College (AZ)
15) Scooter Hightower – RHP – 6’6″ 215lbs – R/R – Columbia State Community College (TN)
16) Nick Hibbing – RHP – 6’6″/210lbs – R/R – University of Iowa
17) Austin Sodders – LHP – 6’3″/180lbs – L/L – Riverside Community College (CA)
18) Stephan Meyer – RHP – 6’4″/190lbs – R/R – Bellevue University (NE)
19) Ike Schlabach – LHP – 6’5″/185lbs – R/L – Timber Creek High School (TX)
20) Tanner Anderson – RHP – 6’2″/195lbs – R/R – Harvard University (MA)
21) Nicholas Economos – RHP – 6’6″/215lbs – R/R – Mercer County Community College (NJ)
22) Nathan Trevillian – RHP – 6’2″/175lbs R/R – Amherst County High School (VA)
23) Jacob McCarthy – CF – 6’2″/195lbs – L/L – Scranton High School (PA)
24) John Bormann – C – 6’0″/205lbs – R/R – University of Texas – San Antonio
25) Logan Hill – RF – 6’3″/230lbs – R/R – Troy University (AL)
26) Shane Kemp – RHP – 6’3″/180lbs – R/R – George Washington University (DC)
27) Ryan Nagle – LF – 6’1″/200lbs – L/R – University of Illinois
28) Albert Baur – 1B – 6’4″/215lbs – L/R – Newberry College (SC)
29) Chris Falwell – LHP – 6’6″/195lbs – L/L – Cisco Junior College (TX)
30) Mike Wallace – RHP – 6’4″/190lbs – R/R – Fairfield University (CT)
31) Riley Smith – RHP – 6’2″/180lbs – R/R – San Jacinto College North (TX)
32) Cole Irvin – LHP – 6’4″/190lbs – L/L – University of Oregon
33) Sean Keselica – LHP – 6’2″/210lbs – L/L – Virginia Tech University
34) Brenden Spillane – 3B – 6’4″/210lbs – R/R – Wheeling High School (IL)
35) Jordan George – 1B – 6’2″/200lbs – S/R – Arkansas State University
36) James Marvel – RHP – 6’3″/195lbs – R/R – Duke University (NC)
37) Eli White – SS – 6’3″/180lbs – R/R – Clemson University (SC)
38) Conor Costello – RHP – 6’3″/205lbs – R/R – Oklahoma State University
39) Tate Scioneaux – RHP – 6’1″/200lbs – R/R – Southeastern Louisiana University
40) Daniel Zamora – LHP – 6’3″/195lbs – L/L – SUNY Stony Brook (NY)
Let’s take one last look at Pittsburgh’s final breakdown. They chose 25 pitchers, including seven left-handers, and 16 hitters. There were a total of two catchers, nine infielders, and five outfielders. Could one of these players be the next Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Gerrit Cole, Pedro Alvarez, Jordy Mercer, Tony Watson, or Jared Hughes? Only time will tell.
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