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Draft thread: Another shortstop?

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The MLB amateur draft starts at 7pm tonight.  Coverage on MLB TV actually starts at 6:30.  Picking 22nd, the Pirates aren't likely to make their first pick until long after 8pm.  The Pirates will also have the 41st and 68th picks today.

Several mock drafts have come out in the last day or so.  At MLB.com, Jim Callis has the Pirates taking Louisville reliever Zack Burdi, while Jonathan Mayo has them taking Pennsylvania prep shortstop Nolan Jones.  Mayo lists Jones as a third baseman, given that he's 6'5".  Keith Law also projects (sub. req'd) Jones to go to the Pirates.  Yesterday, Baseball America's John Manuel had the Pirates going with Wake Forest corner infielder Will Craig.

There appears to be a good chance of some craziness in this draft.  The biggest wild card is Delvin Perez, a Puerto Rican shortstop considered by many to be a top five talent.  Perez recently flunked a drug test and is thought to be dropping rapidly.  Several other top talents, such as OF Blake Rutherford and RHP Matt Manning, may be very tough to sign and could drop for that reason.

UPDATE:  BA has probably their final mock draft up and they project the Pirates to take Jones.  They say the Pirates will have "no problem" moving him to third, but their typical pattern would be to keep him at short as long as possible.  They won't care that they already have Kevin Newman and Cole Tucker.

UPDATE PART DEUX:  Callis now has the Pirates taking Jones.  Law says the Pirates will pass on Burdi if he's there.