According to one MLB writer, The Pirates had the best haul in the 2021 draft.
MLB.com writer Jim Callis says that Pittsburgh took “full advantage” of having the first overall draft pick and the largest bonus poll of $14,394,000.
While it too early to tell how each player will develop, Callis compiled his list “with the assumption that any player selected in the first 10 rounds will turn pro.”
Catcher Henry Davis out of Louisville, is rumored to be signing his contract as early as this weekend and will most likely sign under slot, giving the Pirates more cash to work with for their other picks.
The Pirates then nabbed top high school pitcher Anthony Solometo, high school pitcher/infielder (and Clemson football recruit) Bubba Chandler and high school outfielder (Penn State football recruit) Lonnie White.
Chandler has already said he is going to sign with the Pirates and indicated that White could be doing the same.
Callis’ full analysis of the Pirates draft:
The Pirates collected the best college position player (Davis), the best high school left-hander (Solometo, second round) and the best two-way prospect (Chandler, third) as well as one of the better athletes (White, supplemental second). That quartet will soak up much of Pittsburgh's bonus pool, but it also took a projectable Vermont prep right-hander who impressed at the inaugural Draft Combine (Owen Kellington, fourth), one of the top fifth-year collegians and the NCAA Division I leader in total bases (Dallas Baptist second baseman Jackson Glenn, fifth) and a pitchability college starter with a high floor (California righty Sean Sullivan, eighth).
Of course time will tell if these moves help the Bucs return to contention, but one thing is for sure, with an already top 10 farm system and the great work done in the draft, General Manager Ben Cherington is doing everything he can to give manager Derek Shelton a competitive team in the coming years.
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