With their tenth round pick, the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted right-handed pitcher Cameron Junker out of Notre Dame. He’s 21 years old and stands in at 6’5″, 220 pounds.
Junker barely pitched as a freshman, then struggled badly as a sophomore, posting an 8.74 ERA in 35 innings, with a .290 BAA and a 41:25 SO/BB ratio. As a full-time starter this season, he improved his stats dramatically, cutting his ERA down to 4.19 in 77.1 innings, with 73 strikeouts and a .234 BAA. Those stats were skewed by two very poor starts to end his season. While the walks were still high (40), he showed major improvements in his control. That being said, he profiles as a bullpen arm. His fastball sits in the low-90s and gets up to 96 MPH, with 78-80 MPH slider that projects to be an average pitch. That two-pitch mix could play up in shorter roles.
This draft spot comes with a $143,900 bonus slot.
