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2017 Draft

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Top four picks are all very interesting, high upside high school players.

1. Shane Baz (12): Polished HS RHP with a 92-96 mph fastball already, touches 98, and a five-pitch mix. He sinks his fastball, throws a slider which sometimes he throws like a cutter, and has a curve and a change. His delivery is already clean, and his command is fine, but there's no deception in his delivery, so guys can get on his fastball despite its quality, so that seems like it will be a focus in his development.

I get a Taillon feel from him in terms of how advanced he already is as a high school arm. If he gets close to what Taillon seems to have become, this will be a great pick.

2C. Steve Jennings (42): Another HS RHP, but he's a lot more raw. Fastball is 89-92 and has touched 95, with a lanky build which could add some velocity. He throws a hard slider which is his best secondary pitch, and it has some upside, and he's a really good athlete. Tore his ACL playing quarterback, but was back on the mound in four and a half months, and seemed to be completely healthy.

There's more work to do with Jennings than Baz, but he's another arm to dream on.

2. Cal Mitchell (50): HS bat-first outfielder. Profiles in left, not a great arm and below-average speed, but apparently this kid is a really solid pure hitter. He tried to add power this spring, but it didn't work, and his draft stock failed, but before that, he showed the ability to hit the ball on a line to all fields, and good command of the strike zone. Before his tough spring, he was considered one of the best HS bats in the draft. Since the Pirates preach hit first in their development, they may be able to correct him quickly and get his bat back to where it was. Could be a blessing that he had a bad spring so he'd fall to us at 50.

CBB. Conner Uselton (72): HS OF, good athlete, could stick in CF defensively, plus wheels and very strong. Another HS quarterback, too. He's a little raw, but he's shown some talent for hitting, and the plus power potential and speed could make him an impact player. High risk, high reward pick which hopefully pays off. In any case, between Mitchell and Uselton, the GCL Pirates are going to have a very interesting outfield to watch thisyear.
 
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3. Dylan Busby (88): Florida State 3B with good pop. The Seminoles teach a patient, selective approach to their hitters, and getting on base above all else, so he should transition smoothly into the Pirates' system. He swings and misses quite a bit, but he can hit to all fields and can hit some dingers. He's a good athlete, good hands and arm, but there are some questions about whether or not he'll stick at 3B. Some say he will, others say he'll end up at 1B or LF. I like the pick, good to add more power at the corners, which is probably the system's biggest weakness.
 
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4. Jason Delay (118): Vanderbilt defense-first catcher. Good receiver, good blocker, good catch-and-throw guy, but not much of a hitter. Likely taken to save money for other picks, but not without value, either. He's praised for how he handles pitchers, which can only be a good thing for the development of our young starters. He's also got a little pop, but it hasn't shown up in games. Seems like he could be a future backup.
 
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5. Deon Stafford (148): St. Joseph's C, the first college senior the team has taken, but not necessarily an easy sign. He's not very good defensively, but he's shown the ability to hit, and for power. He slugged .509 in the Cape Cod League, which is very encouraging. He regressed a bit in his senior college season, which dropped his draft stock, but the talent is there if they can get at it.
 
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6. Cody Bolton (178): HS RHP, considered to be unsignable, but already updated his Twitter Bio to say he's a Pirate. Tall, projectable pitcher, throws 89-92, touches 94-95, makings of a slider. Similar mold to Steve Jennings.
 
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7. Jared Oliva (208), Arizona CF, great athlete with a bat that's lagged behind a bit, but started to catch up this year. Tall guy with great wheels, has doubles power now and could add home run pop. If he improves consistency on reads, he could stick in CF long term, too, and he should add value on the bases. I've watched him for four years here in AZ, and always though he was just shy of tapping into enormous potential. He got much closer to doing that this year.
 
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8. Blake Weiman (238), Kansas LHP, decent fastball, could add a little more velocity, but not much. Good command, too. His weakness is stamina, moved to the bullpen because he got bad as the game went on. Pirates might want to try to fix that stamina issue to make him a starter, but he likely profiles more as a left-handed reliever.
 
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9. Bligh Madris (268), Colorado Mesa OF, sophomore. It's DII ball, but holy cow, this kid hit. .422/.517/.757, scouted as having a good feel to hit and big raw power. There are questions about whether or not that will translate to better competition, but he seems to be worth the risk. 80-grade name.
 

redskin4209

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Thanks Darkstone for the refreshing info. Just hope we don't lose any of them especially Shane Baz. We lost
Nick Lodolo last yr to TCU, that does not happen again.
 
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10. Beau Sulser (298): Likely a signability pick to free up money for more of the high-upside guys, but the Ivy League pitcher of the year in 2017, and he has really good control, it seems. He shut down a decent Miami team for 7 innings this season as well. Likely will end up in the bullpen, and he'll probably sign cheap because they need some money to go over-slot later. Fifth year senior, no negotiating leverage.
 

psaboy

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Yesterday's picks look good. Looks like they did well in getting 3-4 players ranked in top 80-100.
 
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Power bats and projectable arms seem to be the theme of day three, with a couple slick defenders with wheels thrown in for good measure.
 
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While there were a number of interesting picks on day 3, the most important one was clearly 29th rounder Brock Deatherage, who has two 80-grade tools: speed and name.
 

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Thanks for all the analysis.

I really like the Baz pick and signing. He has the skill set for a top of the rotation pitcher. Very young and hopefully next generation team (post Cole/Taillon) he will be the ace.
 
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