BA ties new name to Pirates in latest mock draft

Baseball America's latest mock draft has the Pirates selecting Wake Forest corner infielder Will Craig.  BA states that while the Pirates have frequently been tied to prep bats -- a report I've seen in several places -- the analytics are high on Craig.  He's a big guy at 6'3", 235, which isn't the sort of player the Pirates tend to go for.  He also may not be able to stay at third, but I don't think that would scare the Pirates off.  Craig is a power hitter with good strike zone judgment, but not all scouts are sold on whether his power will translate to the pros.

BA has Louisville reliever Zack Burdi, whom Keith Law thinks will be a target for the Pirates, going ninth to the Tigers, who've had bullpen problems since Ty Cobb's days.  BA also has outfielders Taylor Trammell and Alex Kiriloff, and Pitt righty T.J. Zeuch, going ahead of the Pirates.  They have Virginia catcher Matt Thaiss and prep shortstop Nolan Jones, both of whom strike me as logical Pirate targets, going after the Pirates.

A couple of other draft notes:

BA has another article breaking down the success rates of the various demographic groups:  prep vs. college, hitter vs. pitcher (lefty or righty) early in the draft.  The bottom line is clear:  take position players.  It's an interesting read.

Point of Pittsburgh has an article handicapping various draft possibilities for the Pirates.  It covers, among other things, some of the more remote possibilities, which could be useful considering the Pirates' tendency sometimes to depart from the scouting consensus.  Also a good read.

Btw, if you're thinking you've seen the photo above a few times before, that's because it's the ONLY photo in the SBN archive from the MLB draft that doesn't have Bud Selig in it.