The Pirates took a few more prep players in rounds 21-25, including Jake McCarthy, who is the younger brother of Joe McCarthy. His older brother was taken by the Rays with pick number 148 but connected to the Pirates at one point. Also, after taking nine pitchers in a row, they went back to position players with their last three picks. One interesting pick in that group was John Bormann, who should be an easy sign as a college senior. He doesn’t have much of a bat, but is rated high for his defense, to the point that he made Baseball America’s top 500 prospects for that alone. He’s got a shot to reach the majors as a backup, and with the way the Pirates value catcher defense, he seems to be in the right organization for that chance. – Tim Williams
21st Round, 637th Overall: Nicholas Economos, RHP, Mercer County CC
Economos is another tall pitcher drafted by the Pirates in the late rounds in 2015, as the team looks like they are picking as many big pitchers as they can after concentrating on bats early. He pitched for Harford Community College last year and had a 9.00 ERA in 32 innings, with 31 walks and 41 strikeouts. Economos improved to a 4.10 ERA at Mercer County CC in 2015 and had 60 strikeouts in 41 innings. His fastball was up to 94 MPH in 2013. In a down year for the state, Economos was not among the top 25 prospects in NJ according to Baseball America. – John Dreker
22nd Round, 667th Overall: Nathan Trevillian, RHP, Amherst County HS (VA)
Trevillian isn’t as tall as most of the prep pitchers that the Pirates have taken in the past, but he does have some projection in his frame, with the chance to add some velocity in the future. He has hit 90 MPH, and sits in the mid-to-upper 80s right now, with some good downward movement on his fastball. In video I watched, he rushed to the plate too quickly, leading to some poor command. When he was on, he had some nice movement and worked down in the zone, while mixing in the low-to-mid 70s big breaking curve. He has a commitment to Liberty University. Trevillian was ranked the 25th best prospect in Virginia, but fell outside of BA’s top 500. – Tim Williams
23rd Round, 697th Overall: Jake McCarthy, CF, Scranton HS (PA)
McCarthy is the brother of Virginia outfielder Joe McCarthy, who the Pirates supposedly had interest in drafting. The younger McCarthy has a commitment to Virginia, but won’t get to join his brother, who was drafted in the fifth round by the Rays. Jake was both an outstanding football and baseball player at Scranton HS, plus he excelled at basketball. He is considered a talented lefty bat, whose best tool is his plus speed. Baseball America has him rated as the 35th best player in Pennsylvania in what is considered a banner year for the state. He is young for the draft class, turning 18 at the end of July. – John Dreker
24th Round, 727th Overall: John Bormann, C, Texas-San Antonio
Bormann was drafted in the 19th round last year by the Angels, but decided to return to UTSA for his senior year. He had a better season, posting a .782 OPS, up from a .745 OPS last year, but didn’t see any improvements in his stock, going a few spots lower to the Pirates. He did excel at catching base runners, throwing out 45% of base stealers in 2015. Baseball America rated him as the 433rd best player in the draft due to his defense alone, saying that could be enough to get him to the majors. He has good receiving skills, good agility for blocking, and they rated him with an above-average arm. He should serve as a backup catcher in the lower levels, with a chance to reach the upper levels in a Jacob Stallings role, splitting time with other catchers along the way. – Tim Williams
25th Round, 757th Overall: Logan Hill, RF, Troy
Hill is a big right-fielder from Troy University, who spent his first two seasons of college ball playing for Jeff Davis CC (AL) where he led the state in both batting and homers as a sophomore. In his only year at Troy U, he hit .354/.440/.549, with 13 doubles and nine homers. He is considered to have tremendous raw power, something that is hard to find in the Pirates’ system. Hill didn’t strikeout much in 2015, didn’t commit an error in the field while compiling five assists, and he stole 13 bases. He should sign quick and play for Morgantown this season. – John Dreker
