There wasn’t much to get excited about in rounds 26-30. The Pirates should have a good shot at signing most of these guys, pending they don’t return to college for their senior years. That wouldn’t be an option with 28th rounder Albert Baur, who is a senior. These guys will mostly fill out the Morgantown and Bristol rosters this summer, with the pitchers looking like bullpen options, and Baur potentially being a starter at first base. – Tim Williams
26th Round, 787th Overall: Shane Kemp, RHP, George Washington University
Kemp was a starter and a reliever at George Washington University, putting up a 4.18 ERA in 32.1 innings, with a 20:20 K/BB ratio. The Pirates announced him as a reliever when they drafted him, and he will most likely serve in that role in Morgantown. He’s a senior, so he should sign quickly. He had some control problems, and unless he can fix those in pro ball, he looks like an organizational reliever in the lower levels. -Tim Williams
27th Round, 817th Overall: Ryan Nagle, LF, U Illinois Champaign
Nagle is a left fielder for Illinois, where he hit .339/.401/.449 in 61 games as a junior. As a sophomore, he struck out 31 times in 173 at-bats, then cut that down to 28 strikeouts in 254 at-bats in 2015. Nagle didn’t homer during his first two season of college, but showed a little pop as a junior, hitting 19 doubles and three homers. He is 19-for-30 in stolen bases over his three season at Illinois. Nagle is patient at the plate and has a short, contact-oriented swing that produces a lot of line drives. Out of high school, he was ranked 27th among prep prospects in Illinois, but couldn’t make Baseball America’s top 35 this year, in an average year for the state. -John Dreker
28th Round, 847th Overall: Albert Baur, 1B, Newberry College
Baur is a fifth year senior, after red shirting in 2011. He crushed this year with a .427/.510/.796 line and 16 homers in 206 at-bats, although this comes with the big disclaimer that he played in a small conference. The home run total was more than he had in the first three years, so there was some improvement. He should serve as an organizational guy in the lower levels, starting at first base for Morgantown or Bristol. He’s the son of former Phillies minor leaguer of the same name, who pitched for two years. –Tim Williams
29th Round, 877th Overall: Chris Falwell, LHP, Cisco JC
Falwell is the second 6’ 6″ left-handed pitcher that the Pirates took in the 2015 draft with a commitment to Texas A&M Corpus Christi. He pitched at Cisco JC (TX) in 2015, where he had a 5.88 ERA in 26 innings, with 33 strikeouts. As a college freshman, he saw limited time on the mound for the University of Arkansas. Falwell gets his fastball into the low-90’s with deception in his delivery. That is an improvement over his numbers out of high school, when he was topping out at 87 MPH. He is still very lanky, so there is room to add muscle and that could lead to even more velocity in the future. -John Dreker
30th Round, 907th Overall: Mike Wallace, RHP, Fairfield University
Wallace had a 3.84 ERA in 72.2 innings this year for Fairfield, with a 50:12 K/BB ratio. He’s a tall, projectable right-hander who has shown some good control in his time in college. He had just 15 walks in 86.2 innings last year, and 19 walks in 66.2 innings in 2013. Because of his innings totals, he could be a starter for the Pirates, and his good command could allow him to reach a higher level. However, he seems like a guy who will top out as an organizational swingman in A-ball, with the chance to reach Double-A as depth. –Tim Williams
