Pirates Target High School Talent On First Day Of MLB Draft
A 17-year-old fireballer from Texas is the Pittsburgh Pirates top pick in Major League Baseball's 2017 First-Year Player Draft.
Right-handed pitcher Shane Baz was selected with the 12th overall pick Monday. He is the first high school pitcher the Pirates have selected in the first round of the draft since Jameson Taillon in 2010.
The @Pirates select Concordia Lutheran (@SaderNationTX/@clhstxathletics) Pitcher Shane Baz (@thewizardofbaz) with 12th pick. #txhsbaseball pic.twitter.com/0xCScyeOz8
— VYPE Houston (@VYPEHouston) June 13, 2017
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Baz attended Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball, Texas. It is the same school that Pirates minor league infielder Ke'Bryan Hayes attended. He was selected by the Pirates in the 2015 draft.
Baz can bring the heat. Baseball America ranked his fastball as second-best among high school pitchers in this year's draft.
With the 12th pick of the 2017 #MLBDraft, the @Pirates select @SaderNationTX RHP Shane Baz: https://t.co/VQvAAywHWY pic.twitter.com/GzCYKvcgND
— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) June 13, 2017
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In all, the Pirates selected four high school prospects on the first day of the draft.
In the second round, the Pirates used their 42nd overall pick to select right-handed pitcher Steve Jennings from DeKalb County High School in Tennessee, and then took outfielder Calvin Mitchell from Rancho Bernardo High School in California with the 50th overall selection.
The Pirates used a compensatory pick to select outfielder Conner Uselton from Southmoore High School in Oklahoma.