Pittsburgh Pirates Draft News: Braxton Ashcraft Agrees to Terms

Yesterday it was reported that the Pittsburgh Pirates and Gunnar Hoglund agreed to terms.  It seems that they also have reached an agreement with their second-round pick.

The Pittsburgh Pirates finished up their draft yesterday by drafting players in rounds 11-40.  However, before it was all said and done it was being reported that they had already reached terms with some of their picks.  The first agreement that was reported was about the number 36 overall pick Gunnar Hoglund.  Hoglund was the team’s competitive balance pick. Hoglund will forego his commitment to Ole Miss and will be flying out to Pittsburgh in the next few days to sign his contract.

However, not long after the Hoglund news, a report out of Louisiana indicated that second-round pick Braxton Ashcraft signed as well.  This report came from KXXV, a news station in Waco, Texas who did a TV interview with Ashcraft.  It was noted in an online article that can be found here.  According to the report, Ashcraft will be flying up to Pittsburgh over the next few days to sign a deal.  This was also reported by the Post-Gazzette’s Pittsburgh Pirates beat writer Bill Brink.  This means that Ashcraft will be passing on his commitment to Baylor University.

Scouting Notes

Ashcraft is one to be excited about.  He is big, standing at 6’5” and weighs 195 pounds.  His fastball has reached as high as 94 in starts and apparently has good sink to it.  Also, the fact that he is 6’5” and only weighs 195 pounds suggests that he could add a few more miles per hour to his fastball. He also throws a slider that shows promise and a changeup.  Furthermore, his mechanics are considered relatively clean and consistent which is always good for health reasons.

Next: Hoglund to Sign?

Signing Bonus?

The big righty from Texas was ranked as MLB Pipeline’s 64th best prospect entering the draft.  Baseball America was high on him ranking him as their 58th best prospect on the draft board. The 51st pick in the draft was given a bonus allotment of $1.38 million.  The fact that he already is ready to come to Pittsburgh and sign suggests that he and the Pittsburgh Pirates already exchanged figures.  What does this mean?  Well, the Bucs knew what kind of dollar figure Ashcraft was looking for and were comfortable with it.  Also, it could mean that they will not have to go over-slot on him necessarily.  Often times with prep pitchers, teams have to sign their other players to see how much money they have to offer.  It does not seem the case here.