The Pittsburgh Pirates signed the following players today from the 2018 First-Year Player Draft. The announcement was made by Joe DelliCarri, Pirates Senior Director of Amateur Scouting.
Round 5 - Grant Koch, C, 6-0/190, University of Arkansas (assigned to West Virginia Black Bears) ... Hit .245 (53-for-216) with seven doubles, seven home runs and 35 RBI in 66 games (62 starts) in 2018 with the University of Arkansas ... Led all catchers in the SEC with 13 home runs in 2017, which also ranked seventh overall in the conference ... Threw out 16 of the 24 runners attempting to steal against him in 2017, which ranked third among all SEC backstops ... Took home first-team All-SEC honors in 2017 ... Was a 2014 Perfect Game Underclass High Honorable Mention.
Round 10 - Mike Gretler, INF, 6-2/180, Oregon State University (assigned to West Virginia Black Bears) ... Hit .305 (80-for-262) with 21 doubles, seven home runs and 51 RBI in 68 games for the 2018 NCAA champion Oregon State Beavers ... Hit .301 with 13 doubles, four triples, five home runs and 33 RBI in 62 games (57 starts) in 2017 ... Was previously selected in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft by the Boston Red Sox in the 39th round, but did not sign ... Was also selected in the 39th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft by the Pirates, but did not sign.
The Pirates have now signed 31 players from the 2018 draft. A complete list is attached.
The Pirates also signed the following three non-drafted free agents:
Allen Montgomery, RHP, 6-3/190, Southern Illinois University (assigned to Bristol Pirates) ... Went 2-0 with a 5.32 ERA in 27 appearances this season with Southern Illinois University.
John O'Reilly, RHP, 6-5/205, Rutgers University (assigned to GCL Pirates) ... Finished his career at Rutgers ranked second in program history with 49 starts, fourth with 300.2 innings and seventh with 174 strikeouts.
Alec Rennard, RHP, 6-3/210, University of Michigan (assigned to Bristol Pirates) ... Went 2-2 with a 3.41 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 11 appearances (five starts) as a senior in 2018 with the University of Michigan.