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The Pirates have signed their second and third round draft picks, Braxton Ashcraft and Connor Kaiser.
Pirates sign RHP Braxton Ashcraft, their 2nd round pick. He had 103 strikeouts in 70 1/3 innings this season. They also signed third-rounder Connor Kaiser and four non-drafted free agents: infielders Pat Dorrian, Matt Morrow and Kyle Mottice and outfielder Steven Kraft.
— Liz Bloom (@BloomPG) June 22, 2018
Ashcraft, a right-handed pitcher out of a Texas high school, was the 51st overall pick in the draft. Kaiser is a shortstop from Vanderbilt.
The Pirates have now signed 29 of their 41 draft picks. The top remaining unsigned picks are supplemental first rounder Gunnar Hoglund (prep RHP), fifth rounder Grant Koch (C) and tenth rounder Mike Gretler (3B). Koch and Gretler are still competing in the college world series.
UPDATE: Ashcraft got well over the slot amount.
2nd-rder Braxton Ashcraft signs w/@Pirates for $1,825,000 (pick 51 value = $1,382,400). Texas HS RHP, very athletic & projectable, started hitting 95 mph at end of spring, promising slider. National-record 37 TD catches as WR in 2016. Baylor recruit. @MLBDraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 22, 2018
Kaiser signed for slighly under the slot amount.
3rd-rder Connor Kaiser signs w/@Pirates for $625k (pick 86 = $673,200). Vanderbilt SS, one of best college defenders in this @MLBDraft, hit well in Cape Cod Lg, three HR in regional championship game vs. Clemson. @MLBDraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) June 22, 2018