Pirates start 2nd day of MLB Draft by picking Puerto Rican shortstop, Arizona catcher

On the second day of the MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates loaded up on college hitters.

The Pirates professed they picked the best players available Sunday night in a pair of right-handed prep pitchers from southern California in Seth Hernandez (No. 6) and Angel Cervantes (No. 50) and college sluggers in Fresno State third baseman Murf Gray (No. 73) and Oklahoma catcher Easton Carmichael (No. 82).

When the draft ended Monday evening, the Pirates had picked 14 college players — including 11 position players — and seven prep prospects (five pitchers). In total, they took a dozen position players and a nine pitchers, though a couple are considered two-way players.

So, general manager Ben Cherington did address the need for an offensive infusion.

“We are going to take the best player available. That’s not quite satisfying an answer for you,” Cherington said in a video conference call. “I think what I would add to that, and it may be reflected in the selections today, is that we really have and continue to work to improve and refine our process of assessing hitters. Whether those are amateur hitters or external professional hitters, wherever hitters come from. As we develop and improve in that process and understand more clearly what attributes and what kinds of performance and what hitting traits we want to make the best bets on, I think it just helps give confidence in those selections.

“So, again, best player available, but we feel more and more confident about the specific traits we are looking for in hitters. There is still a risk involved. Obviously, the pro game is going to test all of these guys. There is going to be adversity and not everyone is going to have a straight line to the big leagues, but we are really excited about the collection of hitter performance, traits and different styles that potentially came into the organization today.”

Amateur scouting director Justin Horowitz said the club framed the draft process “plunder the deep,” and believes the Pirates accomplished their mission.

They started the second day by picking the top prospect out of Puerto Rico, selecting 17-year-old shortstop Gustavo Melendez out of Colegio Nuestra Senora de la Merced in Cayey, P.R., in the fourth round. The slot value for the No. 113 pick is $674,300.

The 5-foot-8, 160-pound right-handed hitter, a Wake Forest recruit who doesn’t turn 18 until Oct. 20, has played on an international stage for the USA in the U-12 World Cup in 2019 and for Puerto Rico in the U-15 World Cup in 2022. Melendez is considered a solid defender with surprising pop at the plate. He is ranked the No. 123 prospect by Baseball America and No. 140 by MLB Pipeline.

2025 MLB Draft Combine Updates

BP session of top recruit out of Puerto Rico Gustavo Melendez. Twitchy athlete with lightening quick hands. Wake Forest commit and #223 on the @JustBB_Media 2025 MLB Draft Top 300. pic.twitter.com/Fq2VsYX12z

— On The Clock | College Baseball and MLB Draft (@OnTheClock_1) June 18, 2025

“He’s got some interesting talent,” Horowitz said. “He’s not the biggest kid in the world, I’ll tell you that right now, but the kid can hit. Natural feel, he’s got a good swing. And defensively, he’s got a good little glove too. He can bounce around the dirt, play a variety of different positions.”

In the fifth round, the Pirates picked Arizona catcher Adonys Guzman. The 5-11, 220-pound Bronx, N.Y., native has an 80-grade arm on the 20-80 scouting scale but was undrafted out of high school and started his college career at Boston College. The 21-year-old shined after transferring to Arizona, where he batted .328/.411/.496 last season and threw out 31% of base stealers. Ranked the No. 314 prospect by Baseball America, he could be an under-slot signing for the No. 144 pick that comes with a slot bonus value of $499,000.

Adonys Guzman 2025 College Baseball Highlights! | Arizona Wildcats | @AdonysGuzman3 @ArizonaBaseball pic.twitter.com/3PCL1bKUj5

— Baseball is Everything (@ReportOnSports) June 27, 2025

“The defense is certainly his calling card; it has been since his prep days as a high schooler,” Horowitz said. “Kid can really catch and throw, and he’s a leader behind the plate. He’s tough. He can lead a staff. Then offensively, we believe that he took some major strides this year. Made a lot more contact. Started hitting the ball a little bit harder. When you start to add up those pieces for a catcher, that’s a pretty attractive profile.”

The Pirates added another right-handed pitcher in the sixth round, selecting Jack Anker of Fresno State. The 6-2, 200-pounder was the Bulldogs’ Friday night starter in 2025, going 9-5 with a 5.46 ERA in 91 1/3 innings and a .293 batting average against, but posted career-bests with a 24.3% strikeout rate and 4.6% walk rate. That included a 16-strikeout performance in eight innings of a combined 7-0 shutout win over San Diego State on April 11, which earned him USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award player of the week honors. MLB Pipeline ranks Anker as the No. 198 prospect. Slot value for the No. 173 pick is $380,500.

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Jack Anker is the first pitcher in the Mountain West to reach 100 strikeouts in 2025‼️@MountainWest pic.twitter.com/CSwI823cWy

— Diamond 'Dogs (@FresnoStateBSB) May 16, 2025

“On the surface, what you see is a kid who has incredible strike-throwing ability, the ability to manipulate different pitch types, attack the zone, compete and find ways to win,” Horowitz said. “And that’s a pretty good foundation.”

They added another college bat in the seventh round by selecting Arkansas third baseman Brett Iredale. The 6-3, 200-pounder, a native of Sydney, Australia, is ranked the No. 177 prospect by MLB Pipeline. He spent two seasons at New Mexico Junior College, where he batted .437/.543/.925 with 42 home runs and 40 steals. At Arkansas, Iredale hit .286/.450/.544 with 11 doubles, 14 homers and 57 RBIs in 65 games as the Razorbacks reached the CWS.

“He had a great year at Arkansas in the SEC, and that’s not an easy thing to do, no matter where you’re from,” Horowitz said. “The kid can really hit. I think we see some upside in terms of what we may be able to tap into from a developmental perspective, both offensively and defensively on the corners.”

In the eighth round, the Pirates picked Georgia Southern outfielder Josh Tate. The 5-11, 178-pound right-handed hitter led the Sun Belt with a .362 batting average and was a first-team all-conference selection after hitting 18 doubles, 12 homers and 46 RBIs. Tate started his college career as a second baseman at Georgia, so he has versatility.

The ninth round brought a familiar name as the Pirates took LSU first baseman Jared Jones. The 6-4, 246-pound right-handed hitter is a slugger who was the top hitter for the national champions, batting .323/.414/.613 with 15 doubles and 22 homers, but he had a 26.1% strikeout rate and a career-low 11.7% walk rate. Jones is ranked the No. 101 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 205 by Baseball America.

“Personally, I honestly was a little bit surprised he was still available around in that area of the draft,” Horowitz said. “That kid has some of the biggest power, if not the most power, in the draft. He’s proven it at the highest level in college baseball, playing for a program that is potentially the best in college baseball. So a lineup anchor and someone we’re excited about.”

JARED JONES WALKS IT OFF AND LSU ADVANCE TO THE MEN’S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES FINALS
pic.twitter.com/sIZW7kA4tv

— MLB Walk Offs & Game Winning Plays (@MLBWalk_Offs) June 19, 2025

two is better than one, right? https://t.co/ppnIrZ8tPn

— jared jones (@jared_jones_17) July 14, 2025

In the 10th round, the Pirates picked Arizona State shortstop Matt King. The 6-1, 195-pounder spent his first three seasons at UT-San Antonio, where he batted .336 with 41 RBIs as a junior. He hit .403/.464/.593 with 18 doubles, seven homers and 55 RBIs as a senior. He’s a likely under-slot pick at No. 293, which has a value of $193,100.

In the 11th round, the Pirates selected Hofstra second baseman Dylan Palmer, then took Samford 6-7 right-hander Cameron Keshock in the 12th.

With their 13th-round pick, the Pirates took a local product in Liberty right-hander Dylan Mathiesen, who had a WPIAL-best 100 strikeouts in leading Montour to the Class 4A state title in 2022. After starting his college career at Cal (Pa.), Mathiesen was 2-4 with a 5.07 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 84 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings over 17 starts at Liberty this past season. He’s recovering from elbow surgery, so area supervisor Matt Doughty decided he worth a flyer.

“Because of the work that he did and because of his relationship with the kid and knowing that he was a local kid and would have potential interest in being a Pirate, that was something we were able to latch onto and work through as we went through the draft,” Horowitz said. “We selected the player because we’re super excited about his talent and his character, but it’s also pretty cool that he’s fairly local and wanted to be a Pirate.”

With three of their next four picks, the Pirates took prep pitchers who are committed to colleges. They selected right-handers Connor Hamilton of Nashville Montgomery Bell Academy (Vanderbilt) and McLane Moody of Fort Smith, Ark., Northside (Arkansas) in the 14th and 15th rounds, respectively. They took Louisville outfielder Eddie King Jr. in the 16th round, then picked two-way player in Carter Gwost, a left-handed pitcher and outfielder from Little Falls, Minn., in the 17th round. The Pirates took outfielders Canon Reeder of Oregon State (18th round) and Brandon Cain of Oklahoma (19th) — who also has a background as a pitcher — before using their final selection on left-handed pitcher Nick Frusco of Miller Place (N.Y.) High.

“We were able to land a number of the targets that we were excited about all year long,” Horowitz said. “Kudos to (the scouts) for all the hard work that went into that process and put us in a position to land some players that we think have a chance to exceed expectations hopefully and make an impact for the Pirates.”