Pittsburgh Pirates 2018 Draft: Potential Second Round Pick

The MLB Draft is less than a month away.  The Pittsburgh Pirates have multiple top picks.  Who could they look at in the second round?

With the draft coming up, everyone is looking towards who the Pittsburgh Pirates will take with their number 10 overall pick.  However, the team also has the number 36 and number 51 picks, both spots that the team could add high end talent.  Many have projected players like Jared Kelenic, Ryan Rolison, and Ethan Hankins at number 10.  MLB Pipeline currently has University of Florida third baseman Jonathan India as the number 10 overall talent.  Who is the player they could target at number 51 this year?

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a few positions they could focus on this draft.  First of course being starting pitching, as no team can have to0 much of that.  Also, they could look to draft a catcher, being that MLB Pipeline does not have any top 30 prospects other than Deon Stafford.  Lastly, they could look to add more outfield talent, a position that they Bucs have seen thin out of the prospect depth chart.

According to MLB Pipeline, pitcher Lenny Torres is the number 51 overall prospect in the draft. Torres is a high school right-handed pitcher.  He is one of the younger prep players on the board, being he will not turn 18 until October, which could actually give him more upside, and he is committed to St. Johns.  What kinda of pitcher is he?  Here is a snap shot scouting report from MLB Pipeline on Torres:

“The right-hander will sit around 93 mph right now, can touch 96-97 mph, and it’s easy to dream on more velocity consistently in the future, especially given he’s just 17 years old. Torres has a slider that could be a future plus pitch, though he doesn’t always show it now, dominating his NYC competition with his fastball. He’ll also fiddle with a changeup in the bullpen that has some arm side run, but he doesn’t use it in games.”

Next: Mock Draft

Torres represents what the Pittsburgh Pirates have focused on the last few years with prep pitchers.  He has a power fastball that has a ceiling to fill in yet.  He is 6’2” and weighs a 185 pounds, so he still has a frame to grow into.  Also, he has a slider and changeup that shows plus movement, but both need some work.  However, the Bucs have taken plenty of prep pitchers like this in Travis MacGregor and Max Kranik.  The fact that he has plus stuff, is young and has a high ceiling, but at the same time has a lot of fine tuning is something that the Pittsburgh Pirates normally target.