Rum Bunter Pittsburgh Pirates Mock Draft 2.0

Round Two - Cameron Johnson

I'm sticking with the Pirates taking Cameron Johnson with their second-round pick. All rankings have him as low as 42 and as high as 40, so going #43 overall isn't out of the question. Johnson is definitely my favorite pitcher in this year's draft. He's a tall, well-built kid with the kind of potential that could make him an ace in the future.

Cameron Johnson comes out of IMG Academy, a school many top professional athletes can trace their origins through. Johnson is a massive left-hander. He stands at 6'5", 240-LBS, and uses that size to fling a fastball through the zone in the mid-90s and topping out at 97. He also throws a sweeping slider that sits in the mid-upper-70s. It's a second plus offering. He also throws a change-up, though it's clearly a third pitch as of right now.

The most impressive part of Johnson's game is he's able to throw so hard at such a young age and with his arm angle. Johnson is only 18 and won't turn 19 until next January. He has a low, almost side-arm arm slot, which has some Chris Sale-like attributes. However, he doesn't go as low as the former Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox ace.

A tall, low-arm slot lefty with the last name Johnson and you'll probably hear a comparison to the Big Unit at some point in Cameron's future. There's definitely some relief risk, as his stamina wasn't outstanding, and his change-up looks like an average pitch. Plus, he is committed to LSU, the same school that both Crews and Paul Skenes attend. However, these are nothing that can't be fixed or improved upon and not something that should make the Pirates turn away from if Johnson is still available at #43. I definitely think that Johnson is a pitcher who becomes a consensus first-round pick, maybe even a top-ten pick, if he goes through with his commitment to Louisiana.