2015 MLB Draft results: Pirates pick Casey Hughston, Jacob Taylor, Brandon Waddell

Here's the Pirates' Day Two haul through Round 5. If you were following the last thread, the writeups for Hughston and Taylor are basically the same.

-P- The Pirates selected Casey Hughston, an outfielder from the University of Alabama, in the third round. MLB.com notes that it looks like he'll be a corner outfielder even though he has the wheels to play center, since he his reads and routes aren't the best. He hit .332/.389/.502 with six homers and 12 steals this year. He did not, however, control the strike zone last year as well as the Pirates' Day 1 college picks did -- Hughston had 55 strikeouts against 22 walks. Baseball America ranks him the No. 105 prospect in the draft, describing him as a potential fourth outfielder who could become something better than that if he can improve his approach at the plate or improve defensively. He turns 21 today and is a draft-eligible sophomore.

-P- In the fourth round, the Pirates took Jacob Taylor, a righty from a Mississippi community college. Until recently, he was mostly an outfielder, but MLB.com (which ranks Taylor the No. 77 prospect in the draft) notes that he sits at 93 MPH now and can throw as hard as 97 MPH. He has a slider that's inconsistent but potentially good, and he needs to work on his changeup, which probably isn't surprising given his background and youth (he won't turn 20 until next month). He's 6-foot-3. Baseball America (which ranks Taylor No. 97 in the draft and No. 1 in Mississippi) characterizes him as a "project" but notes that he has terrific tools. He's committed to LSU, so he might require a significant signing bonus. I noted yesterday that the Pirates' Day 1 picks might allow them to save some money against their bonus pool. They might spend some of that money here.

-P- In the fifth round, the Pirates took lefty Brandon Waddell from the University of Virginia. MLB.com rates Waddell the No. 163 prospect in the draft and calls him a "pitchability lefty," noting that he throws 89-91 MPH with a slider and change. He's 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, though, and he just turned 21, so the Pirates might hope he can still add a bit more velocity. Baseball America is more bearish on him, listing him as the No. 343 prospect in the draft and writing that his stuff is "pretty vanilla," characteristic of a middle reliever or maybe a fifth starter. He's also having a much worse season in 2015 (4.15 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 4.1 BB/9) than he had in 2014 (2.45 ERA, 5.8 K/9, 1.5 BB/9). Maybe the Pirates look at the improved strikeout rate and see something they can fix. As a lefty who knows how to pitch, Waddell might end up thriving at the lower levels, but we'll see how he does at the higher ones.