This time of the year, the draft news comes rather quickly. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, it’s an exciting year because of the extra pick at the top of the first round. We are hearing about 10-15 names that they may pick from, though you never know who could sneak into that group that we have only mentioned here briefly in the past four months. What we do know is this, next Thursday the Pirates will make two of the top 14 picks in the MLB Amateur draft and as I pointed out late last night, one or both, may not be popular with everyone. The further down you get in the draft, the more room for error, especially in a year that isn’t rated as one of the best overall. 
Here is a recap of the week that was in Pirates draft news:
Monday: We took a look at the mock draft from John Sickels, who picked Clint Frazier at #9 and Sean Manaea at #14 for the Pirates. Had he posted it a few days later, it is possible that Manaea would have fallen more, since the lefty starter couldn’t pitch this week due to left shoulder tightness.
Tuesday: No new news this day, but there was something interesting. That would be the averaging out of four major mock drafts to see who landed where. Going by this method, we saw Reese McGuire and Ryne Stanek go to the Pirates
Wednesday: Recap of the Jim Callis draft chat and Tim and I recorded the draft section of the PP Podcast.
Thursday: Colin Moran news from Jonathan Mayo, Baseball America’s Best Tools article and Jonathan Gray throws a gem. Also a start from Nevada’s Braden Shipley, who could possibly fall to Pirates.
Friday: Baseball America did their second mock draft and we took a look at Reese McGuire news, Mark Appel’s last start, JP Crawford’s final stats and an article on players who may have signability issues.
Saturday: College hitter news from the day, profiles on shortstops Tim Anderson and JP Crawford, plus a mock draft of note.
Sunday: Final roundup of the week, plus news on some former Pirates. We also take a look at the second mock draft from Minor League Ball
So what’s ahead this week you may ask? Well, we will take a look at any major mock draft that gets released, record a special draft podcast and later this week, the college baseball World Series begins. Any news that comes out from the WS, with the players that we have been following, will be covered.
Draft Notes
The Crawfish Boxes put out their second mock draft, 74 picks deep. It is an Astros site with amazing draft content. They stopped at #74, the first pick of the third round, which is the Astros pick. They have Pirates taking Austin Meadows and JP Crawford with their first two picks, then pitcher Tyler Skulina out of Kent State, with their second round pick. If you read the First Pitch from last night, this is the exact scenario I hope for and suggested the Pirates could take with these three picks. Two upside players, followed by a college starter.
Two other notes from Crawfish Boxes. Earlier in the week I mentioned Alex Balog, a starter out of San Francisco. They updated his profile after his last start, plus they added one for Ole Miss’ starter Bobby Wahl, who looked to be going first round early, but could be one of those second round arms the Pirates might be able to get if he falls enough.
Dan Kirby from Through the Fences has an interview with Tyler Danish, who was ranked 34th among all right-handed pitchers. The HS hurler from Florida threw 94 innings this season without allowing an earned run. So while he probably won’t go until the 3rd/4th rounds, he still has an interesting background. He also has a scholarship to the University of Florida, so he may be a tough sign if he falls too far.
