First 5 rounds: Shane Baz (1-12), Steve Jennings (2-42), Calvin Mitchell (2-50), Conner Uselton (CBB-72), Dylan Busby (3-88), Jason Delay (4-118), Deon Stafford (5-148)
Also notable: Jared Oliva (7-208), Blake Weiman (8-238), Mason Martin (17-508)
The Pirates had five of the first 88 picks, and they decided to front-loaded their draft, going overslot with three of their first four picks before going underslot in the third, fourth, and fifth rounds. Each of their first four picks were high schoolers, and they ultimately looked for upside in this draft. There is a lot of potential impact talent here, but a lot of it is high risk as well. If one of them turns into a star, though, they'll be happy.
1-12: RHP Shane Baz (my rank: 9)
This is a great pick. I have long been a proponent of Baz, a high school pitcher from Houston-area powerhouse Concordia Lutheran, which also produced Pirates first rounder Ke'Bryan Hayes in 2015. For some reason, many pre-season lists left Baz out of the top 30, with MLB.com dropping him from the top 40, but I originally slotted him in the mid-20's because I really liked his upside. As it turns out, The Wizard of Baz (that's his Twitter handle and soon-to-be nickname) had a terrific spring and rocketed himself up draft boards, landing himself in my top ten and getting himself drafted twelfth overall. Baz is a high energy right handed pitcher who has pretty much everything going for him except his handedness. With a June birthday, he's young for the class, and he's an athletically built 6'3". Baz throws in the mid 90's and can hit the upper 90's on occasion, coming in with a full arsenal that includes a cutter/slider, curveball, and changeup. His fastball has good running action, his curveball has big break, the slider has hard bite, and the changeup has good sink. He doesn't always command it consistently at this point, but that's to be expected, and he has real top of the rotation upside. To top it all off, he's been said to be an extremely grounded but competitive kid who will be easily coachable. Baz signed for $4.1 million, which was $68,000 above slot and just enough to sign him away from a very strong commitment to TCU.
2-42: RHP Steven Jennings (my rank: 48)
For some reason, there seemed to be no public video available of Jennings before the draft, making it difficult for me to evaluate him. The Tennessee high schooler was a pop-up guy, coming back from an ACL injury to throw low to mid 90's with a pair of breaking balls, though he needs to work on his changeup. He doesn't have the most electric arm, but he has a good combination of velocity and stuff, and it could be enough to make him a mid-rotation starter. Jennings signed for $1.9 million, which is $264,500 over slot.
2-50: OF Calvin Mitchell (my rank: 76)
Mitchell came into the season in the first round conversation, having shown an advanced, powerful bat on the showcase circuit. However, the California high schooler changed his approach during the season, selling out for power and looking lost at the plate for much of the season. He won't be a butcher in the field, but he's also not going to win any Gold Gloves as a left fielder, so he will have to hit to provide value. He's a very high risk pick, but he could pay off as a 20 homer, .270ish hitter. Mitchell signed for just over $1.35 million, an at-slot bonus.
CBB-72: OF Conner Uselton (my rank: 60)
Uselton is a high schooler from Oklahoma, where he generates big time, hard to find power from a big swing. His big question mark going forward will be contact, because he may not be able to get the bat to the ball enough to tap into his plus power. He's somewhat similar to Brewers competitive balance pick Tristen Lutz, though the contact concerns are more pronounced. A former quarterback, Uselton should be able to play an above-average right field with his solid speed and cannon arm. He signed for $900,000, which is $96,000 over slot.
3-88: 1B/3B Dylan Busby (unranked)
Busby missed my top 150 due to pronounced contact concerns, but the Florida State star has massive power potential. This year, he slashed .315/.399/.597 with 15 home runs for the Seminoles, using his long arms to send pitches flying out of ballparks. When the 'Noles came to Virginia Tech for a weekend series, I saw him blast one out to left field that seemed like it would never come down. However, he slumped hard during the first half of the season and even though he righted the ship, he still struck out in 22% of his plate appearances, and I'm not so sure of his ability to improve his contact as he moves up. Busby signed for $575,000, which is $51,600 below slot.
7-208: OF Jared Oliva (unranked)
The Arizona outfielder had a breakout year this year, slashing .321/.385/.498 with four home runs as a junior, but scouts see more power to come without sacrificing contact. He has a clean swing and I can see him adding some pop, but I'm not sold on his ability to do so and I'm not sure he'll be able to escape a tweener profile, not defending enough for center field but not hitting enough for an outfield corner. He signed for $200,000, at slot for the 208th pick,
Others: 4th rounder Jason Delay has been Vanderbilt's catcher for four years, proving to be an excellent defender who could win Gold Gloves if he hits enough to make it to the majors. His bat was nothing special during his first three seasons in Nashville, but he did slash .309/.385/.444 with a pair of home runs as a senior, making it at least somewhat less unreasonable that he could be a future back-up catcher. He is a catcher through and through, working with pitchers well, so worst case scenario is that he helps develop some of the Pirates' young pitching. 5th rounder Deon Stafford is also a college catcher, but he's Delay's polar opposite. The St. Joe's star slashed .395/.486/.702 with 18 home runs as a sophomore, but slumped to .288/.464/.521 with eight home runs as a junior. His swing isn't in the zone for long, and he swung and missed more than evaluators had hoped, but the power is definitely there and he could pull it all together to put up Brian McCann type numbers. Unlike Delay, he's not a great defender, with questions over whether he can stick behind the plate. 8th rounder Blake Weiman struggled for two years as a member of Kansas' rotation, but he broke out upon a move to the bullpen, going 5-1 with a 2.80 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP, striking out 55 and walking just five in 45 innings. He throws right around 90 with an average slider, but everything plays up because he commands his pitches so well. The 6'5" lefty didn't have the stamina to pitch out of the rotation, but he could work his way up as a long reliever. 17th rounder Mason Martin signed for $225,000 over slot as a high schooler from Washington. He shows big power and is a similar player to third rounder Dylan Busby, struggling with contact at times but wowing scouts with his home runs. He's a high risk project, but he could pay dividends for the Bucs down the line.
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