The Pirates selected Louisville catcher Henry Davis with the top pick in the MLB Draft Sunday. The Pirates added three more highly ranked prospects, including a pair of major-college football recruits.
The Buccos selected left-hander Anthony Solometo of Bishop Eustace Prep in Pennsauken, N.J., No. 37 overall to start the second round.
Speedy outfielder Lonnie White Jr. of Malvern Prep near Philadelphia with their Competitive Balance B Round pick at No. 64.
Right-handed pitcher/switch-hitting shortstop Bubba Chandler of North Oconee High School in Bogart, Ga.
In the fourth round, the Pirates picked right-hander Owen Kellington of U-32 High in Montpelier, Vermont, a Connecticut recruit with a fastball and strikeout rate in the 90s.
The Pirates’ first four picks ranked among Baseball America’s top 32 prospects, essentially giving them four players with first-round grades.
ALL STAR GAME TONIGHT:
The Pirates will have two players in the All-Star game tonight, with Adam Frazier voted the National League’s starting second baseman and Bryan Reynolds who was selected a reserve outfielder.
National League manager Dave Roberts revealed on Monday that Reynolds will start in center field and bat eighth — followed by Frazier in the 9-hole
Frazier and Reynolds will become the first Pirates position players to start an All-Star Game together since Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke in 1992.
ALONSO REPEATS AS HOME RUN DERBY CHAMP:
New York Mets first basemen Pete Alonso won the Home Run Derby last night (July 12th) for the second year in a row, declaring after his victory, “I’m the best power hitter on the planet.”
The only other players to win back-to-back derbies are Yoenis Cespedes and Ken Griffey Jr. Alonso hit 74 total home runs in the contest at Denver’s Coors Field, the longest of them 514 feet, beating the Baltimore Orioles’ Trey Mancini 23-22 in the final round.
MLB COMMITS $100 MILLION TO HELP INCREASE BLACK BASEBALL PLAYERS:
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced before the Home Run Derby last night (July 12th) that MLB will give at least $100 million over 10 years to the Players Alliance, which was launched last year, and help raise an additional $50 million with the goal of increasing the number of Black young people playing baseball and eventually making it into the majors. Manfred said it would be MLB’s largest charitable commitment.