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Pittsburgh Pirates 2018 Draft: Day Three Thread

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In the past, we would do day three articles after every five rounds. We would discuss the highlights and the trends for that group of players. This would work for the first few articles, but the later articles got repetitive, with a lot of “These guys will be fillers for Morgantown” or “These guys probably won’t be signing.”

Last year we switched to a day three open thread, posting links to the player pages after we finished posting them for each pick. We also posted some thoughts and updates throughout the day, and the comments gave you one place for discussion, rather than spreading it out over about six different articles.

John Dreker and I will be dividing up the player pages, writing something on each player. We will post the links to each player in the chart below, when the player page is completed.

Round Pick Round Pick Round Pick
11 Michael Burrows, RHP 21 Will Gardner, RHP 31 Chase Lambert, SS
12 Zac Susi, C 22 Jason Brandow, OF 32 Dean Lockery, 2B
13 Zack Kone, SS 23 Tyler Miller, SS 33 Joe Jacques, LHP
14 Daniel Amaral, CF 24 Cam Alldred, LHP 34 Davis Sharpe, 3B
15 Jonah Davis, LF 25 Luke Mangieri, RF 35 Justin Harrer, SS
16 Colin Selby, RHP 26 Ethan Paul, 2B 36 Emanuel Andrews, CF
17 Brad Case, RHP 27 Ryan Haug, C 37 Lavoisier Fisher, CF
18 Michael Lopresti, RHP 28 Nick Patten, 1B 38 Brendt Citta, RF
19 Will Kobos, RHP 29 Giovanni DiGiacomo, CF 39 Cody Smith, RHP
20 Conner Loeprich, RHP 30 Jack Herman, CF 40 Jake Mielock, RHP

Check out John Dreker’s day three preview from this morning, along with my column recapping day two. And go to the Draft Pick Signing Tracker for information on every player drafted by the Pirates, along with links to our daily recaps.

We’ll provide updates once the draft gets going today.

UPDATE 12:24 PM: The Pirates started off with a prep pitcher on day three, taking right-hander Michael Burrows. He wasn’t ranked in the Baseball America top 500, but was one of the top prep guys remaining on the board according to Perfect Game. He’s got a projectable frame and quick arm action from a three-quarters slot. He already can hit 93 MPH, but currently sits in the upper 80s. He’s got three secondary pitches, with the slider being his best one, and not much of a changeup. Burrows also played third base, but his primary spot is as a pitcher. He should be an over-slot guy, but probably not the only one.

They selected catcher Zach Susi in the 12th round. He was the #326 prospect from BA. Check out his profile above for some initial information. – TW

UPDATE 12:54 PM: The Pirates have gone with college guys the last three picks, although they’re all ranked on the BA top 500, and pretty appropriate value by those rankings. Aside from Susi, they added big shortstop Zack Kone with the 384th pick (ranked 228th), and added Daniel Amaral with the 414th pick (ranked 329th, and jumped from 440th in the final BA rankings). It will be interesting to see how the Pirates divide up playing time between Kone and third round pick Connor Kaiser. They could send Kone to Bristol to get both guys regular work at shortstop, or could have Kone get some time at third base. The latter approach could also be impacted by tenth round pick and third baseman Mike Gretler. – TW

14th round pick Daniel Amaral is the son of long-time Major Leaguer Rich Amaral. Daniel is a speedy center fielder, with patience at the plate and a line drive stroke. He lacks power, though he does everything else well. – JD

UPDATE 1:05 PM: The Pirates stuck with the college route in round 15, taking Jonah Davis, who was ranked #200 by BA. He won’t provide much defensive value, but has plus raw power, despite a 5′ 10″, 181 pound frame. He does have some strikeout issues, which is probably why he dropped. If the Pirates can clean that up some, he could be an interesting pick. He hit for a .321/.446/.606 line in 193 at-bats with 14 homers this year. – TW

UPDATE 1:45 PM: Brad Case shows some of the challenges on draft day. I couldn’t find any information on him, other than his size and stats, and old pitch information from high school three years ago. I can’t tell you how often that has happened over the years. I can tell you that it doesn’t mean the player isn’t good. He’s just a mystery, and a guy we’ll have to check up on to get a full report when he starts playing this summer. – TW

UPDATE 3:07 PM: The Pirates took some high school guys in the 22nd and 23rd rounds, getting outfielder Jason Brandow and shortstop Tyler Miller. Both have some power, fitting a trend for the Pirates. Brandow has hit some 400+ foot home runs. Miller hit for a .403/.482/.831 line in 141 plate appearances this year, with 13 home runs. He’s also 6′ 2″, making him the third big shortstop the Pirates have taken in this draft. – TW

Brandow is an athletic player who has also caught and played third base. He has terrific power, good size and a big bat. Could be a tough sign from Cal State Fullerton. – JD

UPDATE 3:43 PM: Ethan Paul is a small second baseman with solid defense, average speed and some pop in his bat. He also strikes out a lot and doesn’t have any standout tools, so his upside is considered somewhat limited. Baseball America had him rated 326th. – JD

UPDATE 3:50 PM: Ryan Haug is a college senior and looks like a lower level depth option behind the plate, with a weak bat and strong defense. He’s from Arizona, and it will be interesting to see if the Pirates team him up with sixth round pitcher Michael Flynn, who was also drafted from Arizona. – TW

UPDATE 4:10 PM: 28th round pick Nick Patten is a power hitting first baseman who also excels on defense. He struggled in his junior year, putting up a low average and high strikeout rate, but has had success in the past. – JD

UPDATE 4:38 PM: Aside from adding to the list of great names in the draft, Giovanni DiGiacomo gives the Pirates an interesting center field option to try and sign. He’s a 70 grade runner, and a plus defender, but needs work with the bat. He might be a difficult guy to sign, since he would be able to improve his draft stock and position by going to LSU and improving the bat in college. – TW

30th round pick Jack Herman is an athletic player with tools. He a solid runner,with a strong arm and a very quick bat that generates a lot of power. He’s been committed to Maryland since before his first high school game. – JD

UPDATE 5:42 PM: 34th round pick Davis Sharpe was highly rated as a pitcher coming into this year, but his stock fell and the Pirates announced him as a third baseman. He has a strong arm and has been working hard on improving his hitting. He’s a Clemson commit with the potential to be a two-way player in college so he likely won’t sign cheap. Could be a backup plan if they can’t get some other over-slot signings done. – JD

UPDATE 6:28 PM: It was difficult finding information on Lavoisier Fisher, who appears to go by LJ. I couldn’t find a commitment for him, although he tweeted a few offers last year — three for football and one for baseball. There is much more information about football, and that seems to be his main focus, so he might be a difficult guy to sign. – TW

UPDATE 7:08 PM: Emanuel Andrews is an athletic outfielder with a strong arm a decent speed. He’s raw at the plate, with the ability to get on base, but lacks any power. He is very young for his draft class and has a commitment to Fresno State. – JD

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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