2010 Draft: Top Prep Players and Their Commitments

In the past two drafts, the Pittsburgh Pirates have spent a lot of money luring top prep prospects away from their commitments to major colleges.  In 2008 the Pirates signed Robbie Grossman for $1 M, stealing him from Texas.  They also signed Quinton Miller for $900 K, stealing him from UNC.  Jarek Cunningham had committed to Arizona State, and Wes Freeman had committed to Central Florida, yet both players ended up signing in the later rounds.

In 2009 the Pirates took their approach to the extreme, luring Zach Von Rosenberg (LSU), Colton Cain (Texas), Zack Dodson (Baylor), Brooks Pounders (USC), Trent Stevenson (Arizona), Evan Chambers (Tampa), Walker Gourley (East Carolina), and Joey Schoenfield (San Diego State) away from college commitments.

Grossman, Miller, Freeman, Von Rosenberg, Cain, Chambers, and Stevenson all were rated in Baseball America’s top 200 prospects before their respective drafts, and the Pirates paid a total of $5,148,900 to sign these seven players.

Below you will find the prep players that are included in Baseball America’s top 200 rankings for the 2010 draft, along with their college commitments.  I couldn’t speculate as to who the Pirates may target, as it all depends on who falls in the draft due to signability reasons.  If I had to take a guess, I’d look at the top recruits for each team (those are usually guys who are harder to sign), as well as right handed pitcher Mike Foltynewicz, rated #44 by Baseball America.

I mention Foltynewicz just because he’s the top Texas recruit, and if the Pirates got him, it would be the third year in a row they stole a top recruit from Texas (Grossman in 08, Cain in 09).  It doesn’t seem like a bad guess.  He’s 6′ 4″, 200 pounds, and throws 93-95 MPH, touching 96 or 97 on occasion.  Sorry Texas fans.

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