Pittsburgh Pirates Draft: Pick for Rounds 8-10

The Pittsburgh Pirates finished up the second day of their 2018 MLB Draft a little while ago.  They made three more selections in rounds 8, 9, and 10.

For day two of the draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates have focused mainly on college players.  That did not change with their selections over the last three rounds of day two.  Of course, day two of the MLB draft covers rounds 3-10.  Let’s take a look at what the Pittsburgh Pirates picked up with their 8th, 9th, and 10th round picks.

8th Round

With their 8th round pick the Pittsburgh Pirates selected left-handed pitcher Zachary Spears.  Spears has pitched the last three seasons at the collegiate level for Miami University (Ohio).  The thing that sticks out the most about Spears is his size.  He stands at 6’7” and weighs around 235 pounds.  In his first two seasons at Miami, he posted earned run averages north of five.  However, he is coming off his best season this past year pitching to a 3.84 ERA in 12 starts.  According to MLB.com, Spears throws his fastball in the low 90s.  He also has a changeup that cuts away from lefties and a curveball.

9th Round

The Pittsburgh Pirates continued their trend of taking college pitchers by selecting Logan Stoelke.  Stoelke has pitched at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and just finished up his senior season.  The righty stands at a prototypical 6’3” and weighs about 195 pounds.  He was used primarily as a reliever and closed out games also.  He threw in 21 games this past season, racking up 10 saves.  Also, he had an ERA of 2.97 and struck out 36 across 33 innings.  According to Baseball America, Stoelke’s fastball sits 92-93 miles per hour and reaches up to 95 with a lot of cut to it.

10th Round

With their last pick, the Pittsburgh Pirates took a familiar name to them in Oregon State third baseman Mike Gretler.  The Bucs took Gretler in the 2017 MLB Draft in the 39th round. Obviously, he did not sign with them last year.  The Pittsburgh Pirates must have liked what they saw from him over the last year to take him 29 rounds higher this year.  There was a lot to like from the 6’2” and 180-pound righty.  In his senior season, he batted .311 with a .380 on-base percentage, and .505 slugging percentage.  He hit a career-high 7 home runs and only struck out 34 times in 55 games.  Being he is a senior he will be an easy sign for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Next: Pirates Sign Hoglund?

All of the players the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted today were college players from rounds 8-10.  All three should be easy signs and not cost the Pittsburgh Pirates any money over slot.  In fact, the team will likely be able to save a little bit of bonus money on all three of them.  That is part of the reason they take college seniors in the top 10 rounds so that they can save money and use it on highly rated players who have slid down the board due to signing concerns.  The draft picks up tomorrow at noon.