Ben Cherington used a simple, straightforward calculus on Wednesday to enact his first draft as Pirates general manager.
Cherington had a list of seven names in specific order sitting in front of him as the draft began. When one of those names was called, it was scratched from the list.
When the Pirates’ turn came to make the seventh pick, the survivor at the top of the list was Nick Gonzales, a shortstop out of New Mexico State.
Advertisement
“We felt really good about the way the players were lined up on our board going into the draft,” Cherington said. “Not just the group of players, but the order they were in. Most of the first round went largely as we expected. There were some guys who went a little higher or lower. We feel fortunate and excited that Nick was there.”
There were some surprises. The Baltimore Orioles took outfielder Heston Kjerstad at No. 2, which was several spots higher than many pundits expected. The first high school player to go, outfielder Robert Hassell III, lasted until No. 8. Zac Veen, a prep outfielder who was projected as a top-five pick, lasted until No. 9.
With their competitive-balance pick (No. 31), the Pirates selected South Carolina right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski (pronounced ma-JIN-skee).
The Pirates passed on West Allegheny High School slugger Austin Hendrick, who went to the Cincinnati Reds with the 12th pick.
A few days before the draft, Cherington vowed to take the “best player available” approach — although he half-apologized because that strategy always sounds so boring. That’s just what he did, though, and no one can argue with the result. Gonzales, 21, was rated the fifth-best draft prospect by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. He’s already a polished hitter, which might give him a head start on his path toward the majors.
A native of Tucson, Ariz., Gonzales is his hometown’s highest-drafted player since 1982, when the Pirates drafted shortstop Sam Khalifa. He joined New Mexico State as a walk-on, topped all NCAA batters with a .432 average as a sophomore and last summer was the MVP of the Cape Cod League.
At New Mexico State, Gonzales uses a metal bat and launches balls at 3,900-feet elevation. Succeeding in the Cape Cod League, he knew, was crucial to his chances of being a first-rounder.
Advertisement
“I needed to compete against better competition with a wooden bat at sea level,” Gonzales said. “Those were the three knocks on me — the competition, elevation, metal bats. Going there was the X-factor for me. I had to go there and do well.”
Gonzales’ first hit in the Cape Cod League was a home run. “It was kind of smooth sailing after that,” he said. In 185 plate appearances, he batted .351/.451/.630 with seven homers.
This year, Gonzales moved to shortstop to further improve his draft standing — evaluators covet slick middle infielders, but they go absolutely gaga over shortstops. In 16 games before the pandemic shut down college ball, Gonzales batted .448/.610/1.115 with 12 homers.
Some scouts suggest Gonzales will be a better long-term fit at second base. The Pirates drafted him as a shortstop, but nothing is carved in stone. “We’ll see where it goes down the line,” Cherington said.
The Pirates already have a lot of shortstop depth — Cole Tucker, Oneil Cruz, Liover Peguero and Ji-Hwan Bae — behind starter Kevin Newman. Connor Kaiser, a third-rounder in 2018, has gotten off to a slow start as a pro but has time to turn it around. Cherington said he hasn’t yet decided whether Cruz, who scuffles defensively, will be moved to another position this season.
“If you’re a good middle infielder, there are a lot of places you can go,” Cherington said. “There are a lot of ways you can use a player like that.”
With high school and college seasons wiped out by the pandemic, Pirates evaluators had to dig up data from other sources. Cherington said he sat in on more than 40 Zoom calls to interview prospects over the past few weeks. “I talked to a lot more amateur players than in a normal year,” he said. “Maybe we’ll carry that forward.” Video and scouts’ reports from summer leagues such as the Cape Cod League also played a role.
Advertisement
With the second pick, Cherington went with another Cape Cod League standout. Last summer, Mlodzinski worked 29 1/3 innings and posted a 2.15 ERA with four walks and 40 strikeouts.
“He had missed some time with a (broken) foot in the spring (of 2019), so the Cape was a nice platform to see him compete coming off the downtime,” scouting director Joe DelliCarri said.
Mlodzinski isn’t much of a strikeout guy, although his fastball touches 97 mph, but he does induce a lot of grounders. He has three plus pitches — the heavy, sinking fastball, a slider and a cutter — and is working on a curveball and changeup.
The Pirates need better talent at catcher from Pittsburgh to the Dominican Summer League. They might have an opportunity to address that on the second day of the draft.
Three catchers were selected in the first round. Patrick Bailey of NC State went to the San Francisco Giants at No. 13. Prep standout Tyler Soderstrom went to the Oakland A’s at No. 26. Austin Wells, a sophomore at Arizona, was taken at No. 28 by the New York Yankees. Drew Romo, who played at Jameson Taillon’s alma mater, The Woodlands High in Texas, was drafted by the Colorado Rockies with the 35th pick.
Dillon Dingler of Ohio State, the fourth-rated catcher in the class, will be on the board when the second round begins on Thursday. High schoolers Kevin Parada and Jackson Miller, who were rated among Baseball America’s top 100 prospects in the class, also are available.
The Pirates’ bonus pool of $11,154,500 is the fifth largest in the majors this year. They can use up to $5,432,400 to sign Gonzales and up to $2,312,000 on Mlodzinski.
The draft is being conducted remotely due to the pandemic. “It feels different because we’re all isolated,” Cherington said in a Zoom call with reporters late Wednesday night. “I’m sitting in my office alone. Usually, I’m with a big crew of people at the end of the night.”
Advertisement
Four additional rounds will be held Thursday, making it the smallest draft in history. Teams can sign undrafted players for up to $20,000 apiece.
Minor-league cuts
Thirty-nine minor leaguers, including outfielders Juan Pie, Jean Eusebio and Conner Uselton, were released from their contracts Wednesday morning.
Eusebio, 19, signed for $550,000 in the 2016-17 international signing period. Last year, at rookie-league Bristol, he batted .225/.344/.333. Pie, 19, got a $500,000 bonus in July 2017. He hit .231/.314/.347 last year in the Gulf Coast League.
Uselton, 22, was a second-round supplemental pick (No. 72) in 2017 and got a $900,000 bonus. He batted .225/.280/.250 at Bristol in 2018 and missed all of last season due to an injury. He played in only two games in 2017 due to a torn hamstring.
The list also includes utilityman Jake Elmore and right-hander Luis Escobar, who played for the Pirates in 2019. Elmore, 32, hit .218 in 20 games. Escobar, 24, pitched in five games and put up a 9.00 ERA.
Five players who appeared in Grapefruit League games this spring — outfielder Logan Hill, pitchers Nicholas Economos and Pedro Vasquez, catcher Ryan Haug and utilityman Charlie Tilson — also were released.
(Photo: Stephen Brashear / Associated Press)