The world has been without Major League Baseball since Spring Training competition was suspended on March 12. The league held its first big event since then on Wednesday when it conducted the first round of the MLB Draft.
The draft, which is traditionally about 40 rounds, was reduced to only five rounds for this season and, potentially, future seasons as well.
In the first of two days, there were many selections that had their final seasons of high school or college baseball. Of these selections, many had ties to the Pittsburgh region.
For starters, the Pittsburgh Pirates had two first-day selections, with the 7th overall selection and the 31st selection, which came as part of the competitive balance round.
With their first selection (7th overall) under new general manager Ben Cherington, the Pirates selected Nick Gonzales, a middle-infielder from New Mexico State University.
Gonzales, who was the preseason 2020 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the year, showcased an abundance of talent in his three seasons in Las Cruces.
Across his tenure, Gonzales hit an eye-popping .399 with 37 home runs and 152 runs batted in, recording an astoundingly good .432 batting average, 16 home runs and 80 runs batted in during the 2019 campaign. In 2020, Gonzales hit 12 home runs and drove in 36 runs in just 16 games prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
At the 31st overall slot, Pittsburgh selected Carmen Mlodzinski, a starting pitcher who spent his college career with the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Mlodzinski was named to the 2020 Baseball America Second Team Preseason All-America. In four starts prior to the pandemic, he pitched to a 2.84 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 25.1 innings pitched.
The ties to the Steel City did not stop at the Pirates organization, however.
With the 12th overall selection, the Cincinnati Reds selected outfielder Austin Hendrick, who played at nearby West Allegheny High School in Imperial.
Hendrick, just 18 years old is committed to play in college at Mississippi State University. He committed to play in Starkville following his freshman season. In his junior season, the two-way player showcased his talent, batting to a .327 mark and drawing 23 walks with just 79 plate appearances, as noted by Greg Macafee of Trib Live.
Two hours up the road from Pittsburgh, the Cleveland Indians selected shortstop Carson Tucker with the 23rd overall pick. Carson is the brother of Cole Tucker, who made his MLB debut with the Pirates this past season.
Carson, who has signed to play for the University of Texas, put up promising numbers at the plate. In four years at Mountain Pointe High School (Phoenix, AZ), he hit .390 with 20 doubles and 68 runs batted in. Tucker's junior season of 2019 saw him hit .453 with 24 runs batted in.
Congratulations to these four individuals, along with all of those selections who officially began their journey to Major League Baseball tonight.
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