The Pittsburgh Pirates today signed the following players from the 2017 First-Year Player Draft. The announcement was made by Joe DelliCarri, Pirates Director of Amateur Scouting.
Round: 4
Name: Jason Delay
Position: C
Height/Weight: 5-11/185
School: Vanderbilt University
Affiliate Assignment: Bristol Pirates
Hit .309 (64-for-207) with 18 doubles, two triples, two home runs and 41 RBI in 59 games as a senior at Vanderbilt University...Became the highest drafted catcher from Vanderbilt since Scotti Madison was selected in the third round of the 1980 draft...Became the 17th member of Vanderbilt's 2014 College World Series National Championship team to be drafted.
Round: 5
Name: Deon Stafford
Position: C
Height/Weight: 6-0/202
School: St. Joseph's University
Affiliate Assignment: West Virginia Black Bears
Became St. Joseph's highest drafted player since John DelMonte was selected in the fourth round of the 1979 draft...Earned First-Team All-Atlantic 10 honors for the second consecutive year as a junior in 2017...Hit .288 (42-for-146) with eight doubles, eight home runs and 22 RBI in 42 games in 2017 while also leading the Atlantic 10 conference with a .464 on-base percentage...Was also a semifinalist for the 2016 Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation's top collegiate catcher.
Round: 7
Name: Jared Oliva
Position: OF
Height/Weight: 6-3/187
School: University of Arizona
Affiliate Assignment: West Virginia Black Bears
Hit .321 (78-for-243) with 25 doubles, four home runs and 54 RBI in 59 games as a senior this year at the University of Arizona...Was ranked 26th by Baseball America among 2017 draft eligible outfielders...Started all 59 games this season for the Wildcats and was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-West Region First-Team.
Round: 8
Name: Blake Weiman
Position: LHP
Height/Weight: 6-4/208
School: University of Kansas
Affiliate Assignment: West Virginia Black Bears
Went 5-1 with a 2.80 ERA (45.0ip/14er) while leading Kansas' bullpen with 55 strikeouts in 30 relief appearances as a junior this year...Finished with an overall record of 11-1 with a 2.38 ERA in his three-year career at Kansas...Became the 27th player in Kansas history to be drafted in the top 10 rounds of the draft.
Round: 9
Name: Bligh Madris
Position: OF
Height/Weight: 6-2/200
School: Colorado Mesa University
Affiliate Assignment: West Virginia Black Bears
Hit .422 (92-for-218) with 14 doubles, 17 home runs, 67 RBI and a .757 slugging percentage in 62 games this season with Colorado Mesa University...Ranked 10th in the country among Division II players with 67 RBI and eighth with a .757 slugging percentage.
Round: 10
Name: Beau Sulser
Position: RHP  
Height/Weight: 6-2/195  
School: Dartmouth College
Affiliate Assignment: West Virginia Black Bears
Went 6-1 with a 1.40 ERA (45.0ip/7er) and 52 strikeouts in seven appearances (seven starts) as a senior this year at Dartmouth...Was the 2017 Ivy League Pitcher-of-the-Year, an All-Ivy League and All-New England First-Team selection in 2017...Earned American Baseball Coaches Association All-Northeast Region First-Team honors in 2017, making him the first Dartmouth player to earn all-region honors from the ABCA in four years.
Round: 13
Name: Tristan Gray
Position: INF  
Height/Weight: 6-3/170  
School: Rice University  
Affiliate Assignment: West Virginia Black Bears
Hit .313 (55-for-176) with 16 doubles, eight home runs and 39 RBI in 47 games this season as a junior at Rice University...His father, Jason Gray, also played baseball at Rice and was selected in the 26th round of the 2000 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers.
Round: 15
Name: Gavin Wallace
Position: RHP  
Height/Weight: 6-5/210  
School: Fairfield University
Affiliate Assignment: West Virginia Black Bears
Went 8-5 with seven complete games, four shutouts, a 3.08 ERA (90.2ip/31er) and 76 strikeouts in 14 appearances (14 starts) as a junior at Fairfield University in 2017...Was named the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association Pitcher-of-the-Year in 2017...His brother, Mike Wallace, was selected by the Pirates in the 30th round of the 2015 draft and is currently a member of the West Virginia Power.
Round: 24
Name: Nick Valaika
Position: INF  
Height/Weight: 5-11/185
School: UCLA                                                                                                                                                                 Affiliate Assignment: Bristol Pirates
Is the younger brother of Colorado Rockies infielder Pat Valaika and former Cubs infielder Chris Valaika...Became the fourth Valaika brother to be drafted, also joining brother Matt, who was selected in the 2009 draft by the Reds...Attended Hart High School in California, which is also the alma mater of former Pirate Bob Walk and pitcher Tyler Glasnow.
The Pirates have now signed 10 players from the 2017 draft.