The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed catcher Mitch Slauter to a minor league contract as a non-drafted free agent. He was a senior this past season at Mississippi State, where he was teammates with Adam Frazier, who was drafted by the Pirates in the sixth round. In 2013, Slauter hit .242 in 37 games, with a .731 OPS. As a junior, he played 64 games and hit .232 with a .681 OPS.
Prior to 2012, he played Junior College ball at Barton Community College, where he was the 2011 Defensive Player of the Year in the Jayhawk Community College Conference. Slauter threw out 12 of 29 attempted base stealers in 2013 and he was 15-for-43 the previous season, while also adding in four pick-offs.
With the extra affiliate this year in Bristol of the Appalachian League, the Pirates will need to sign some extra players to fill in the lower level rosters and Slauter seems like a candidate for either Bristol or Jamestown this upcoming season.
