Pittsburgh Pirates: Team Picks Anthony Solometo To Kick Off Second Round

The Pittsburgh Pirates have selected left-hander Anthony Solomet to kick off the second day and the second round of the MLB amauture draft.

After an exciting first day of the MLB draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates kicked it off once again with the first pick in the second round. The Bucs have picked left-handed high school pitcher Anthony Solometo to start the day.

Anthony Solometo is a product of Bishop Eustace, New Jersey. The left-hander stands at a tall 6’5, 218 pounds. Solometo has an unorthodox delivery. However, he’s still considered to have extremely high potential given his solid stuff and well above average control.

The lefty’s four-seam fastball averages out in the 90-94 MPH range. While he isn’t a flamethrower, his command of his fastball has been highly praised. FanGraphs see it as a 50-grade offering in the future while MLB Pipeline grades it as a 55-grade pitch.

His primary breaking ball is a slider. This is a second pitch that some see as an above average offering. FanGraphs has a future grade of 60 for the offering right now while MLB Pipeline has it as a 55. It can get a bit slurvy at times, but it definitley has plus potential. His third offering, a change-up, is already considered an average offering, but as he gets older and gets more experince, you’re looking at a potential third plus offering. His command is his best tool as FanGrapshs sees it as a 60-future grade tool.

Solometo has drawn comparrisons to San Diego Padres’ top prospect Mackenzie Gore because of his big leg kick and also former San Francisco Giants’ ace Madison Bumgarner for his arm slot. The 18-year-old’s delivery adds even more deception to his pitches, which helps them play up from where they are.

You can see his funky deliverly here:

Anthony Solometo defintiley is a good use of the Pirates’ second pick of the draft. There is some risk involved as his mechanics, wind-up, and delivery are quirky and have a ton of moving parts. However, the ace-like potential is there for the left-handed pitcher. He has three offerings with plus potential and elite-level command.