'Aptitude and athleticism' as position players factors for Pirates in draft run on righty pitchers

The Pittsburgh Pirates remained steadfast late Thursday night that they had no intention of drafting a handful of right-handed pitchers who were converted position players or pulled double duty.

It just happened to work out that way.

“Not a particular demographic we were pursuing, the position-player-to-pitcher demographic, but it just ended up being the best player on the board when we came around to our picks were pitchers,” Ben Cherington said after his first draft as Pirates general manager. “Quite a few of them had played a position or still do, in the case of one.”

After selecting New Mexico State shortstop Nick Gonzales at No. 7 overall in the first round, the Pirates had a run on righties. They took South Carolina’s Carmen Mlodzinski in the competitive balance round Wednesday, then picked Jared Jones of La Mirada (Calif.) High School in the second round, Nick Garcia of Chapman University (Calif.) in the third, Appalachian State senior Jack Hartman in the fourth and Northwestern State’s Logan Hofmann in the fifth.

Cherington said before the draft it was deep in college pitching, but the Pirates picking all righties only was a matter of following their philosophy to draft the best player available. Their first four picks drew rave reviews from MLB Network analysts.

“That was it, simple as that,” Cherington said. “We didn’t go into looking for any particular position. Those were the best guys there. The first four guys we took ranked really highly on our board, including the three pitchers, then the last couple pitchers were interesting guys with really good stuff, a combination of stuff and swing-and-miss ability.

“That’s the way it played out. As we got into each round, it just happened to be that as we got closer the top guy left on the board in those rounds was a right-handed pitcher. We weren’t thinking about anything other than taking the best player available with our pick.”

All five pitchers share a common thread in that they started as position players before moving to the mound:

The moment #Gamecocks RHP Carmen Mlodzinski officially got drafted pic.twitter.com/BUxmKXYbVa

— GamecockCentral.com (@GamecockCentral) June 11, 2020

• When Mlodzinski committed to South Carolina as a sophomore, it was as a shortstop who hadn’t yet converted to pitcher. That switch came during his redshirt freshman season.

“It was more of just a raw arm strength type of deal,” Mlodzinski said. “I still viewed myself as a potential infielder or position player in college.”

This deserves its own tweet. Is it me…or is @jared_jones_17 @LMBaseball2019 @USC_Baseball recruit smiling ? before he went bridge here #PBRBombSquad LM wins big 9-2. @PBR_California @LesLukach @NathanRode @ShooterHunt @Russmorgan24 @USABaseball #GotHeem #javelinbatflip pic.twitter.com/CfG68RIgUW

— Steve Doherty (@SteveDoherty643) May 12, 2019

• Jones, a Texas recruit, was 7-1 with an 0.77 ERA in 2019 but also batted .457 for La Marida and made national headlines with an epic bat flip after hitting a home run in the playoffs.

MLB Network draft analysts raving about the Pirates' third-round pick, RHP Nick Garcia (6-4, 215) of D3 Chapman University. Dan O'Dowd says Pirates "are getting first-round talent in the third round."

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) June 11, 2020

• Garcia was an infielder who hit .268 with a double, five runs and six RBIs as a freshman at Chapman before joining the bullpen as a sophomore and becoming a starter this past spring. Joe DelliCarri, the Pirates’ director of amateur scouting, called Garcia “the classic coming into his own position player getting a chance to pitch.”

For Pittsburgh Pirates fans wondering what they got in App State draft pick Jack Hartman, here's a thoughtful, in-depth look at Hartman's college journey, in his own words:@Pirates | @MLB | @RobBiertempfel | @adamdberry | @rumbunter | #MLBDraft https://t.co/AQyQPKE407

— Bret Strelow (@bretstrelow) June 12, 2020

• Hartman was an infielder at two junior colleges, batting .267 with three homers and 34 RBIs as a freshman at Tallahassee Community College and .310 with a .426 on-base percentage at College of Central Floria before becoming a pitcher.

With their 5th-round pick (No. 138 overall) of the 2020 #MLBDraft, the #Pirates select @NSUDemonsBSB RHP Logan Hoffmann.

Watch live: https://t.co/cmm19LFrdg pic.twitter.com/zf3yiULohH

— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) June 12, 2020

• Hofmann was a two-way player in high school in Saskatoon, Canada, where he batted .338 as a senior before concentrating on pitching at Colby Community College and Northwestern State.

DelliCarri said the athleticism to play the field and the low mileage on their arms make for an interesting combination, one that could leave room for plenty of potential.

“With former position players, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to be a fresh arm and a good pitcher,” DelliCarri said. “I think you want to see them for a little bit. It’s just not an automatic. You see some of that aptitude and athleticism show through.”