First Draftee Group Signed

The Pirates announced some draft signings yesterday. Inked and assigned were LHP Cody Dickson, (4th round, Sam Houston State), RHP Chad Kuhl, (9th round, Delaware), and IF Beau Wallace (12th round, Hinds CC).

The 17th, 18th, and 19th round picks - RHP Justin Topa (LIU-Brooklyn), OF Jeff Roy (Rhode Island) and RHP Brett McKinney (Ohio State) - also signed, along with IF Michael Fransoso (27th round, Maine). Those six will report to the Jamestown Jammers, the college-level rookie league.

IF Adam Landecker (21st round, Southern Cal),  LHP Cameron Griffin (23rd round, Stetson) and OF  Justin Maffei, (25th round) also inked deals and will report to the rookie ball Gulf Coast League.

According to Baseball America's Draft Database, Dickson signed for $375,000 (slot - $429,200) and Kuhl for $145,200, exactly at slot. They also show thirteenth round pick Danny Collins, a slugging 1B from Troy, as signed, but that's not been confirmed by the Pirates.College guys don't have a lot of leverage, unless they're willing to take the Mark Appel route; the high school kids have options, so they come along a little later.

Other reports from either the social or mainstream media claim that another handful of high-round guys are actively negotiating with the Bucs. We'd expect them to do pretty well in cleaning up the Top Ten guys; afterward, it gets a little dicey, depending on the remaining over/under pool money.