Today’s Must Listen: Jon Sandfort, Pirates 3rd Round Pick, Ready to Get to Work

We were listening to 93.7 The Fan today, and something joyful came over the airwaves. “It ain’t all about the money, this draft is chump change.”  The 6’5″ Jonathan Sandfort gets it.

He is ready to sign his contract  and report to camp on Monday.

“Most likely, I am going to sign on Monday…..report to camp and get to camp.    I got really excited….fell in love with the team.  I was really excited…..  I am a strong big boy that refuses to lose.”

You have to listen to this.

If this happens, he will do what many of other recent top Pirates picks haven’t done.  He won’t waste months of development.  He will be able, should all go well, to get a jump on getting to PNC Park.

Here is the audio and the link.

Here is our recap of Sandfort from draft day.

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected 6’5″ right handed pitcher Jon Sandfort with their third round pick.

The big righty has a commitment to the University of Florida, but his love for fishing could have him fitting right in with the Bucs fishing fanatics like James McDonald, Neil Walker, A.J. Burnett and Daniel McCutchen. Sandfort once landed a 30-pound red snapper while he fished in the Florida Keys.

In that same article, Sandfort had this to say about the draft:

"“I’m going to think about what’s going to be the best route for me to get to the major leagues,” Sandfort said. “It will depend on what kind of farm system they have, what kind of coaching they have.”"

He is 220-pounds and the projectable righty looks like the perfect Pittsburgh Pirates prep selection.

"“I can’t really control anything that happens,” Sandfort said. “I’m just going in with the mindset that I’m going to play baseball somewhere, for sure.”"

Sandfort put up a 0.92 ERA and punched out 73 bad guys in just 68.2 innings. He has hit 94 MPH with his fastball, but it typically sits 88-91 MPH. Scouts feel he needs more power on his curveball. He was rated the 255th best prospect in the draft by Baseball America. Minor League Ball rated him the 65th best high school right hander.

John Manuel of Baseball America magazine said this about Sandfort:

"“He finished with a flourish. He’s got a fastball in the mid-90s and has a 50-50 shot at going in the first three rounds.”"

We still are digging up baseball video….if you find any send us a link….

Football highlights are all we could find, but hey – he has some serious escapability around the :45 second mark…. we bet Pirates GM Neal Huntington absolutely adores this guy; if you remember he raved about two-and-three-sport athletes on  the most recent podcast.