On the second day of the Major League Baseball draft, the Pirates chose a slugging infielder/catcher with their first pick, in the third round, but then they went after pitchers, particularly college pitchers who would be closer to being Major League ready.
In the third round, the Bucs took Garret Forrester, a corner infielder/catcher from Oregon State with a career .326 average with 26 home runs and 144 RBIs in 177 college games.
Then they chose seven consecutive college pitchers, starting with two right-handers, Carlson Reed and Patrick Reilly. Then left-handers Hunter Furtado and Jaden Woods, closing out the day with right-handers Austin Strickland, Danny Carrion, and Landon Tomkins. Four of the seven pitchers were from SEC schools.
Pirates assistant general manager Steve Sanders emphasized that the team was not necessarily looking for great college statistics, but traits similar to those of J.P. Massey, who they drafted in the seventh round last year. He had a poor 2-8 record at the University of Minnesota with a high ERA of 6.52, but pitched last weekend in the All-Star Futures game.
Of course, in the first round, the Pirates chose a potential ace in right-hander Paul Skenes. General Manager Ben Cherington is impressed with the way Skenes prepared himself to become a big league pitcher.
(Audio provided by Pittsburgh Pirates)
The draft concludes today with rounds 11 through 20.
MLB
The American League is going for its tenth straight victory in the All-Star game tonight in Seattle. The Yankees’ Gerrit Cole starts for the AL against the Diamondbacks’ Zac Gallen. The Pirates have two players on the National League roster, pitchers Mitch Keller and David Bednar.
