The Pittsburgh Pirates signed third round pick Connor Kaiser on Friday afternoon. He was one of five picks in the top ten round who had not signed yet. The Vanderbilt shortstop was selected with the 86th overall pick. He’s the 28th player to sign so far this year with 14 days left until the signing deadline. There could be more signings on the way tonight so stay tuned.
Here’s the player page and also the article recap from the first day for Kaiser
Second round pick Braxton Ashcraft has also signed according to the Pirates press release. Here’s his player page. Here’s the article posted after he was selected 51st overall. I expect the bonuses to be announced shortly and then we will update the tracker.
The Pirates also announced the four non-drafted free agents we posted about on Wednesday and Thursday.
Ashcraft will go to the GCL and Kaiser to Morgantown. No surprises there.
UPDATE: Kaiser signed for under slot. More on this later when we get the numbers for Ashcraft
3rd-rder Connor Kaiser signs w/@Pirates for $625k (pick 86 = $673,200). Vanderbilt SS, one of best college defenders in this @MLBDraft, hit well in Cape Cod Lg, three HR in regional championship game vs. Clemson. @MLBDraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 22, 2018
UPDATE #2: Ashcraft signed a surprisingly high deal, well over the slot amount. I’ll get an updated tracker shortly and then comment below.
2nd-rder Braxton Ashcraft signs w/@Pirates for $1,825,000 (pick 51 value = $1,382,400). Texas HS RHP, very athletic & projectable, started hitting 95 mph at end of spring, promising slider. National-record 37 TD catches as WR in 2016. Baylor recruit. @MLBDraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 22, 2018
UPDATE #3: The Pirates are currently over their pool now with the cost of the Ashcraft deal, but they still have money to spend due to MLB allowing teams to go 5% over their pool without losing a draft pick. The Pirates have shown a willingness to use that 5% and just pay the added tax on it.
We are still waiting on 36th overall pick Gunnar Hoglund to sign, as well as fifth round pick Grant Koch and tenth round pick Mike Gretler. Those last two are still playing in the College World Series, so don’t expect them to sign within the next week. Koch will likely be close to a slot deal, while Gretler is a college senior, so he will be well below his $140,800 slot. So depending on how much Hoglund gets, we will know what they can spend on any remaining players after the tenth round.
