The Pirates have selected Andrew McCutchen, an outfielder from a Florida high school, in the first round of the draft.
Here's what others have to say about McCutchen:
Baseball America calls him the third best five-tool talent, the second best pure hitter, the second fastest baserunner, the fifth best defensive player, and the second closest to the majors among high school players in the draft.
John Sickels says, "McCutchen has all the tools and could be a star. The fact that he will go in the first round despite being listed at 5-11 should tell you how much scouts like his play." WTM selected McCutchen in Sickels' mock draft.
Dave Littlefield says, "He is a good high-school athlete that has good skills... He can run, has a nice arm, and looks like he has the ability to hit well."
I'm just a little bit leery of the facts that McCutchen is a fast, toolsy outfielder and the Pirates seem to have a perverse fascination with fast, toolsy outfielders who can't actually play baseball very well. But it's a good sign that WTM and Sickels like him, and I like the idea of picking another high school position player first after doing so last year. The Pirates might consider taking lots of high school position players in the next couple of drafts, then drafting college players for a few years after that. That way, they'd have a chance of having a ton of cheap talent hitting the big leagues at around the same time.