The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced they have selected right-handed pitcher Shane Baz (pronounced boz) with the 12th overall selection in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft. The announcement was made by Pirates Director of Scouting Joe DelliCarri.
The 17-year-old Baz, who turns 18 on June 17, attended Concordia Lutheran High School in Tomball, TX, where he was named a first-team all-district in 2017 while going 6-2 with a 0.93 ERA and 96 strikeouts. Baz was tabbed by Baseball America as having the second-best fastball among high school pitchers in this year's draft along with being the 11th-best prospect available overall.
He also earned 2017 Rawlings-Perfect Game First-Team All-American honors as well as Texas All-Region First-Team accolades.
"We are very pleased to potentially add a quality young man and pitcher to our organization," said DelliCarri. "We have been impressed by Shane, his family and his pitch arsenal. We look forward to helping him fulfill his potential."
Baz is the first high school pitcher the Pirates have selected in the first round of the draft since Jameson Taillon in 2010.
Last October, Baz was a member of the 18U U.S. National Team that won a Gold Medal. As a junior at Concordia Lutheran, he posted a 1.06 ERA and 46 strikeouts over 23 innings of work.
The 6'3" pitcher attended the same high school as minor league infielder Ke'Bryan Hayes, who the Pirates selected 32nd overall in the supplemental first round of the 2015 draft.