Pirates Draft Grade: MLB Draft Day 2

The Pittsbutgh Pirates face the New York Mets Tuesday at Citi Field.

On Day 1 of the MLB Draft, the Pirates added a power bat along with two high school pitchers (Nick Lodolo and Travis MacGregor.  The team continued to bolster their minor league pitching depth on Day 2, selecting 5 pitchers in Rounds 3-10.

They begin the day drafting shortstop Stephen Alemais from Tulane University.  A native of Bronx, New York, the Green Wave junior hit .311/.368/.401 with 19 steals in 2016.  He struggled with the glove this season committing 16 errors, but is regarded as a great defensive shortstop.

The Pirates then add three straight pitchers with their fourth, fifth and sixth round picks.  In Round 4 they selected Braeden Ogle a lefty from Jensen Beach High School in Florida.  He is committed to the University of Florida and has a fastball that reaches 96 mph.

After that they chose a college pitcher Blake Cederlind a righty from Merced College.  He appeared in 23 games, 4 as a starter, striking out 63 batters but walking 34 over 57 2/3 innings.  In the sixth round the Pirates drafted another lefty Cam Vieaux from Michigan State University.

More from Pittsburgh Pirates

• Pittsburgh Pirates: A Look Back at 2019
• Pirates: Hiring Don Kelly Yet Another Smart Offseason Move
• Pirates’ Solid Offseason Continues with Hiring of Derek Shelton
• Pirates: Derek Shelton Makes Most Sense As Next Manager
• Pirates: Drew Smyly Makes Sense as Potential High-Reward Signing

In the seventh round they dibbed into the wood bat junior college ranks selecting catcher Brent Gibbs out of Central Arizona College.  Regarded as a great defensive catcher, Gibbs batted .396/.497/.590 with 5 home runs and 15 walks.

For Round 8 the Pirates drafted one of the best relievers in college baseball, righty Dylan Prohoroff from Cal State Fullerton. In 20 appearances in 2016, Prohoroff struck out 30 batters and only walking 5 while posting a 0.68 ERA in 26 1/3 innings.

The Pirates chose another position player in the eighth round, picking Clark Eagan a centerfielder University of Arkansas.  Eagan has position flexibility and can play first and third base as well. Hit .298/.370/.444 with seven homers and 37 RBIs in 55 games for the Razorbacks this season.

Lastly the Pirates selected righty Matthew Anderson from Morehead State University in Round 10.  Anderson struck out 130 batters in 91 2/3 innings over 15 starts, but walked 42 batters. His fastball reaches up to 94 mph but mostly at 88-92 with an overhanded curveball.

Grade: B-

The club brought in a hull of pitching prospects in the first 10 rounds of the MLB Draft.   Though these guys are years from the majors or may not even sign with the Pirates, they should all make the major leagues someday.

Next: Pirates Draft Grade: Will Craig

Hopefully there are future pieces to the Pirates from this draft day.