On the first day of the two-day MLB Draft, the Pirates chose a middle infielder and a right-handed pitcher. Yesterday, on Day Two, they drafted four more right-handed pitchers.
La Mirando, California High School right-hander Jared Jones was the 44th overall selection of the draft. Some teams were looking at Jones as a power-hitting outfielder after he hit .457 as a junior, but the Pirates see him as a pitcher. MLB Network’s Dan O’Dowd says he has one of the highest upsides of anybody in the entire draft.
In the third round, the Bucs took college pitcher Nick Garcia, whom O’Dowd called a “truly a first-round talent” out of Division Three national champion Chapman University. Garcia is considered to be a bullpen arm.
The fourth-round draft choice was righty Jack Hartman of Appalachian State, and in the fifth round, they took pitcher Logan Hofmann of Northwestern State, who was drafted by the Cardinals last year but chose to stay in college. He’s a former hockey and track & field athlete.
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