Over the past few weeks, the Pirates have been heavily praised for the talent they selected and were able to sign in this year’s draft class, especially in the early rounds. But the cherry on top comes from one of their final picks.
Outfielder Braylon Bishop, the 14th-round selection by the Pirates but the No. 87 prospect in this year’s draft according to Baseball America, signed with the Pirates Tuesday.
His bonus is for $268,700, per a source.
With Bishop in the fold, the Pirates emerged from this draft with five of Baseball America’s top 100 prospects. In order of selection, they are: Catcher Henry Davis (No. 4), left-hander Anthony Solometo (No. 28), outfielder Lonnie White Jr. (No. 32) and right-hander/shortstop Bubba Chandler (No. 20).
Bishop will forgo his baseball commitment to Arkansas to start his career in pro ball.
He has been praised by evaluators for both his raw power and speed, with Baseball America giving him a 60 grade for both, going based on the scouting 20-80 scale.
Braylon Bishop has long been one of the names to know in the 2021 class.
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) June 18, 2020
He appears in the top 10 of our 'Way Too Early' mock: https://t.co/v53OF0nCMz pic.twitter.com/vDNZrTmIvC
The 18-year-old left-hander is listed at 6-foot-2, 193 lbs.
He hit .400 (36-for-90) with eight doubles, five triples, four home runs and 12 stolen bases during his senior year at Arkansas High School.
Perfect Game rated him as the best player in the state of Arkansas and pre-season All-American and first-team Southeast All-Region selection. MLB Pipeline ranked him as the 94th-best prospect in this year’s draft class.
With the signing, the Pirates have only one player taken earlier than Bishop who remains unsigned: Right-hander Owen Kellington, who was taken in the fourth round.
Per Jim Callis of MLB.com, the Pirates can offer Kellington a deal up to $600,000 -- slightly over the pick's slot value -- without exceeding the 5% tax overage threshold.
The deadline to sign draft picks is August 1.
