The Pirates passed on three of the top-ranked pitchers in the MLB Draft Monday night, selecting outfielder Travis Swaggerty from the University of South Alabama with the 10th overall pick in the first round.
Swaggerty, a 20-year-old left-handed hitter who went undrafted out of high school in 2015, was ranked by Baseball America as the 11th-best player in the draft — the fifth-best college position player — after he batted .296 with 13 home runs and 38 RBIs in 57 games as a junior this past season. He's one of only three outfielders chosen by the Pirates in the first round since 2000, joining Austin Meadows and Andrew McCutchen.
The Pirates added two high school pitchers later on Day 1, using the 36th overall pick on Gunnar Hoglund, a right-hander from Fivay High School in Hudson, Fla., and the 51st pick on right-hander Braxton Ashcraft from Waco, Tex.
On Day 2 of the draft Tuesday, they selected Vanderbilt shortstop Connor Kaiser in the third round, 86th overall, followed by Aaron Shortridge, a right-handed pitcher from the University of California, in the fourth and Arkansas catcher Grant Koch in the fifth. Then, the Pirates took Arizona pitcher Michael Flynn in the sixth and outfielder Brett Kinneman.
"Strong in all facets," Joe DelliCarri, the Pirates' director of amateur scouting, said of the Pirates' decision to select Swaggerty. "Has done some things with the barrel, has grown with some impact and good baserunner. For us, there's a player at a premium position that has a chance to hit in all three facets of the game. Stood out at that part of the board that he was the right fit for us there, he was the best player for us there."
Swaggerty, a native of Mandeville, La., was among the nation's leaders in walks (54) this past season; however, he struck out 36 times in 258 plate appearances while playing for South Alabama, a non-Power 5 school, in the Sun Belt Conference. South Alabama finished with a 32-25 record, losing to Coastal Carolina in the conference tournament and failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
On the other hand, Swaggerty was outstanding last summer while playing for the Team USA Collegiate National Team, batting .328 with a .855 OPS in 19 games while playing center field. That followed a sophomore season in which he had a 1.055 OPS with 10 home runs in 58 games, leading the Sun Belt in on-base percentage (.484), runs (55) and RBI (60).
Hoglund and Ashcraft share two traits the Pirates covet in young arms: athleticism and fastball command. Hoglund, the 84th-best prospect in the draft according to Baseball America, struck out 105 batters and walked just two through 10 starts as a senior, with both of his walks coming in his final game. Ashcraft, who signed a letter of intent to attend Baylor, led Robinson High School to a state title as a junior and was also a talented wide receiver, catching 204 passes for 2,090 yards and 37 touchdowns in 2016.
Kaiser, rated the No. 211 prospect in the draft, is batting .298/.397/.452 for Vanderbilt, hitting three home runs with a team-high 45 RBIs. The 21-year-old had a .873 OPS in the Cape Cod last summer.
After leading Cal with a 1.99 ERA ERA in 14 relief appearances as a sophomore, Shortridge transitioned to the rotation this past season, striking out 74 with only 18 walks in a team-high 91 innings. Koch slashed .250/.366/.397 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs in 53 starts this season, although he had 34 walks to 36 strikeouts.
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Swaggerty, recruited by some schools as a pitcher, was a two-way player when first arriving at South Alabama; however, the coaching staff had him stop pitching before his first regular-season began. He was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball and added 19 pounds between his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Not having to pitch allowed Swaggerty to spend more time in the weight room, where he strengthened his hands, particularly his left one. He credited those workouts with his increased offensive production in his sophomore and junior seasons.
"What a lot of people don’t know about hitting is you need to have a really good, strong top hand," Swaggerty, who attended the draft ceremonies in Secaucus, N.J., said in a conference call Monday night. "My top hand is my left hand. I throw with my left arm. When I‘m pitching, it’s hard to do top-hand work because that stuff can make your elbow hurt. It can make your elbow sore. My arm not being sore all the time allowed me to do more top-hand work."
DelliCarri said: "A natural progression in the hitter and strength. Watching his body strength and swing develop together, more natural is the best way to say it. ... There's no question when you look at players that are trying to [pitch and hit] at the high school level, let alone the college level, it's hard to measure. You have players when they try to do both, you don't know how it wears from one to the other."
Although the Pirates passed on high-upside pitchers, the consensus among evaluators was this year's draft is deep on high school arms, which could explain why seven of the top 10 picks were college position players. The Pirates tried to take advantage of that depth by selecting Hoglund, who is committed to the University of Mississippi, and Ashcraft later on Day 1.
Hoglund allowed only two earned runs in 52 1/3 innings as a senior, giving up only two extra-base hits in that span. Ashcraft was ranked the No. 58 prospect in the draft by Baseball America, and DelliCarri said the 18-year-old overcame some issues with his delivery early in the spring.
"They definitely showed us their fit with their pitches, how they get to those pitches and the control of those pitches," DelliCarri said.
The Tigers selected right-handed pitcher Casey Mize first overall, and the Giants took Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart with the second pick. Oregon State shortstop Nick Madrigal went to the White Sox, followed by Florida third baseman Jonathan India to the Reds and high school outfielder Jarred Kelenic to the Mets.
Two high school pitchers — Ryan Weathers and Carter Stewart — went to the Padres and Braves before the Athletics shocked some people around the industry by taking Kyler Murray, an outfielder from Oklahoma who plans to play football for the Sooners this fall, at No. 9.
With three of the top four pitchers in Baseball America's Top 500 still available, including high school lefty Matthew Liberatore, who was ranked No. 2 in the draft, the Pirates opted for Swaggerty, whom analysts considered the top college outfielder in the draft. He's expected to stay in center field in the minor leagues and has the arm strength to play right.
Also, he is considered an above-average baserunner and stole nine bases as a junior, 19 as a sophomore in 2017 and 31 as a freshman in 2016.
Despite receiving an invitation to the draft, Swaggerty was uncertain when he'd be picked on Day 1. Mize was expected to go No. 1, but there wasn't a clear hierarchy after that. Swaggerty didn't give much thought about possible destinations until he finally heard his name called.
"I really don’t know much about the Pirates, to be honest with you," Swaggerty said. "All I could think about was being in that beautiful ballpark and being able to run around center field there in the future. I can’t wait."