Pirates Prospects is not only read by Pirates fans interested in learning about the farm system. It’s also read by players, coaches, agents, friends and family members. I’m always pleased to see the friends, family members, and coaches of recent Pirates draft picks discovering and following the site. We kind of take the draft for granted, chalking it up as a systematic procedure, and thinking of the players as “prospects” rather than young 18-21 year olds. It’s a big deal for a player to get drafted, and I always enjoy seeing that excitement around the time of the draft.
While posting updates to Twitter today, I started noticing a lot of attention being paid to 12th round pick Candon Myles, with a ton of re-tweets about his selection. I asked the new followers for some additional information on the center fielder out of South Grand Prairie High School. Tonight I got a response from Paul Ylda, who is the assistant coach for South Grand Prairie. Here is what Myles’ coach had to say:
Myles led the Dallas area in steals, was offensive player of the year in our district, the best player I have ever coached
he is truly a great kid. His brother led the NCAA in steals this year from SFAU and was taken in the 6th by Cleveland.
Candons summer team knocked out Josh Bells summer team last summer at the AABC Connie Mack Regionals played at TCU.
I’m already intrigued by the speed of Myles, especially with his quote about how if he gets on first base, he already has third base. That’s an interesting connection between Myles and second round pick Josh Bell. He sounds like a great talent and a great kid. So I’d like to send my congratulations to Candon on the accomplishment of being drafted!
