PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The Pirates have signed four more players from the MLB Draft earlier this month.
Committed to one of the best programs in college baseball, the Pirates instead signed second-round pick Aiden Ruiz.
Shortstop Aiden Ruiz was considered the best defensive player in the entire draft and signed to play at Vanderbilt, where Bryan Reynolds played. Instead the 5’10”, 168-pound switch-hitter will start his career with the Pirates. It’s unclear whether he will play in minor league or rookie ball games this season.
The question around Ruiz is his potential offensive impact. The Pirates believe he’s taken a jump.
"Yeah, he's shown special contact skills,” said Pirates assistant general manager Kevan Graves. “I think that's something that we were driven to. He's shown strong, strong command of the strike zone, and he really took the last year to add good mass, good weight. We've seen a real jump in the impact and the damage at the plate.”
“Certainly, helps as well to be a switch hitter. He's very capable on both sides of the plate, but I think he's got a very strong foundation of contact skills and strike zone command. Exciting to see the jump that he's made with that mass and that impact that he's added, as well."
The Pirates also signed third-round pick, right-hand pitcher Jason DeCaro out of the University of North Carolina, outfielder Andruw Giles out of Basic Academy High School in Nevada and 11th-round pick, Spencer Evans, left-handed pitcher out of TNXL Academy in Florida.
All four players will report to the Florida Complex League.
