The Pittsburgh Pirates released outfielder Clark Eagan on Saturday. The 23-year-old was drafted in the ninth round of the 2016 draft and spent the 2017 season with the West Virginia Power.
Eagan hit .277/.311/.375 in 30 games for Morgantown after he was drafted in 2016. He then moved up a level and hit .261/.317/.388 in 119 games last year. He had a lot of similarities in size and overall tools/skills to Ryan Nagle, a corner outfielder from the 2015 draft, who was released last week. They also got the same exact signing bonus amount. Both players were squeezed out of outfielder jobs this year due to the depth in the system, although neither was able to establish themselves as a prospect during their short time with the Pirates.
The Pirates signed 28 players during the 2016 draft and now nine of them are no longer in the system. Eight have retired or been released, while Matt Frawley was traded away to the New York Yankees last year. Eagan is the highest draft pick among that group now and his $160,000 bonus was the highest among the nine players.
