With this year’s MLB Draft officially in the books, several sources view the Pirates as major winners in terms of picks.
MLB.com’s Jim Callis, who broke the news that Pittsburgh took Louisville catcher Henry Davis first overall, said the Pirates “took full advantage” of their first pick and draft pool, and lists their draft class No. 1 among all 30 clubs.
The Pirates came into the draft with a pool of more than $14 million – the largest of any team in the draft – and will use a good portion of that to sign him. While some would think the majority of draft pool would go towards a first-round selection, let alone the first overall pick, Callis says that Davis is projected to sign for “significantly less than the assigned pick value of $8,415,300,” which gave them more to spend on other top-end draft picks… which they did.
Callis said the Pirates selected the best high school left-handed pitcher in Ant Solometo; the best two-way prospect – which means they hit and pitch at an exemplary rate, like the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani – in Bubba Chandler; and one of the better athletes in Lonnie White Jr.
In addition to Callis, Baseball America took a liking to the Pirates 2021 draft class, ranking four of the Bucs’ selections in the Top 35.
Henry Davis ranks as the No. 4 overall draft prospect; Chandler comes in at No. 20; Solometo at 28; and White rounds it out at No. 32.
Teams can now sign undrafted free agents to deals up to $20,000.
One of the Pirates’ late-round choices announced that he will sign with the team. Brenden Dixon, who the Bucs drafted in the final round of the MLB Draft, announced in a tweet that he will forgo his college commitment to play at the University of Arkansas to sign with the Pirates.
Dixon, a middle infielder, appeared in 14 games with Argyle High School in Texas ,where he hit .353 and was a second-team all-state selection. He continued his success after transferring to Weatherford Junior College, posting a .335 average with 10 home runs and 39 RBIs this season.
The Pirates will have until Aug. 1 to sign their draft picks.
In other MLB news, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer is having his administrative leave extended to July 27th.
Bauer will miss an additional two weeks as MLB and the Pasadena Police Department each continue their separate investigations into allegations of sexual assault involving the pitcher. He was originally placed on administrative leave on July 2nd and this is the third time an extension has been granted. Bauer is scheduled to attend a hearing on July 23rd for a domestic violence restraining order filed by his accuser.
The unofficial second half of the MLB season begins tonight, as the Yankees and Red Sox meet in New York. The Red Sox lead the AL East at 55-and-36. The Yankees are eight-games back at 46-and-43.
The rest of the league resumes action this weekend, with the Pirates set to host the New York Mets tomorrow night.
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