The Pittsburgh Pirates have drafted Arizona center fielder Jared Oliva in the seventh round of the 2017 MLB draft. Oliva drew praise on the broadcast for his athleticism, and got a Drew Stubbs comp in the MLB Pipeline rankings. He was rated 138th by MLB and 140th by Baseball America. Jim Callis noted that he’s surprised Oliva lasted this long, so it appears the Pirates got some good value here.
Oliva was a walk-on player in Arizona, not getting much playing time in high school. He was a redshirt as a freshman, then had a breakout in late 2016 during the College World Series. He does come from a baseball family, with his father and uncle playing pro ball. He wasn’t drafted last year, and just started getting attention from pro scouts this spring.
Oliva had a good year at the plate this year, hitting for a .321/.385/.498 line in 243 at-bats. That was a big jump from last year, when he had a .239/.294/.380 line in 213 at-bats. He was able to square up on balls more consistently this year, hitting for a lot of doubles, with more power to come, possibly topping out at above-average power production. He does have some strikeout issues, and shows how raw he is at the plate and on the field.
The best tools for Oliva are with his speed and defense. His arm grades as average, and he’s an above-average to plus runner. Baseball America noted that he does show inexperience with his jumps on the bases, along with raw defensive skills in center field. He did steal 10 bases in 13 attempts.
Oliva sounds like an interesting project, with some good tools across the board. He could profile as a center fielder with speed and power, but some strikeout issues, thus the Stubbs comp. He joins earlier picks Cal Mitchell and Conner Uselton to help try and boost the outfield depth in the lower levels.
