The Pittsburgh Pirates by-passed highly rated pitcher Aaron Crow due to signability concerns and selected Boston College catcher Tony Sanchez with the 4th overall selection in the MLB Draft this evening.
Sanchez, 21, hit hit .346 with 14 home runs and 51 RBI’s in 58 games for Boston College and is regarded as the most complete catcher in the draft.
The selection of Sanchez has caught many industry insiders by surprise as Sanchez was viewed as an early second round selection who could sneak into the late first round.
Pirates GM Neal Huntington honed in on Sanchez over the past couple weeks after a scouting trip and had Sanchez rated in the top five on the teams big board.
Huntington met with Sanchez last week and Sanchez made it known he was willing to sign for or below slot value and sign quickly which was intriguing to the Pirates.
Signability played a factor in this deal and Pittsburgh feels they can be more aggressive in the later rounds.
The two sides agreed to a predraft deal hours before the draft began at 6:00 p.m.
San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburgh was selected first overall by the Washington Nationals
Fort Worth pitcher Aaron Crow, East Paulding (HS) Pitcher Zach Wheeler and USC SS Grant Green were the final players in the mix for the Pirates with the #4 selection.
Scouting Report on Sanchez
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