Pittsburgh Pirates Draft: A Look at Some College Hitters

The Pittsburgh Pirates will be drafting in less than one month.  Here are some of the college hitters that could be available to them.

The Major League Baseball Draft is officially less than one month away as it starts on June 3rd.  The Pittsburgh Pirates have the 18th overall pick in the draft to go along with three other picks on the first day.  The team should have plenty of options to them at pick 18, so it will be interesting to see what direction they go in with the pick.  Here are some of the college hitters that are projected to go around pick number 18.

Right now, Baseball America has the Pittsburgh Pirates drafting Clemson shortstop Logan Davidson with their pick.  They note that Davidson projects to be an average hitter in the big leagues but also should be able to stick at shortstop.  He does stand at 6’3” and currently weighs 185 pounds, so there is plenty of room for him to some power to his frame.  This year for the Tigers he is slashing .303/.424/.600 with 12 home runs and 12 doubles.  The biggest concern for Davidson is his swing and miss rate, he has struck out 44 times in 45 games.

One of the weakest positions currently in the Pittsburgh Pirates minor leagues is catcher.  There is a good chance that the second best catching prospect on the board could be available.  Baylor catcher Shea Langeliers was once thought to be a potential top 10 pick, but with high school players rising up the board, Langeliers has slid down some.  The catcher also got off to a slow start which has not helped his stock.  All in all, he is batting .324/.391/.493 with five home runs in 32 games.  He projects as a contact first catcher who should hit his fair share of doubles.  Behind the plate, he is considered to be plus, as he was elected as the best defensive catcher in college baseball last year.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the top third base prospects in baseball in Ke’Bryan Hayes.  However, after him, there is not much to speak about in terms of third base prospects in the system.  The team could look to draft Texas Tech third baseman Josh Jung.  Jung currently is projected to go in the early 20s by Baseball America, so he should be available to the Bucs at number 18.  He is your prototypical third baseman, big and projectable power.  He stands at 6’2” and is filled out at 215 pounds already.  This year he is slashing .338/.478/.592 with eight home runs and 14 doubles.  He has yet to really tap into that raw power, but the projection is there.  He should stick at third base.

These are some of the college hitters that are expected to be available to the Pittsburgh Pirates at pick number 18.  With so many picks on the first day, the Bucs may look to the college ranks to try to save some money for prep picks later in the draft.  All three of these players would fill needs in the Pittsburgh Pirates system.  However, a lot can change as the draft gets closer.