With the 22nd overall selection in the 2016 MLB Draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Will Craig, an ACC product from Wake Forest. Craig, a junior, was selected as a third baseman, but he’s also listed as a pitcher on the university’s athletic website.
“I would love to thank all the Wake Forest coaches and staff members who helped me get where I am today,” Craig said in a statement. “Without them, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy today nearly as much. I want to thank my teammates for being there with me through the ups and downs and always pushing me to be my best, and I would love to thank my parents who have supported me my whole life and have always put my wants and needs before their own.”
Craig was named ACC MVP in 2015 and a Louisville Slugger First Team All-American. This season, he was a Dick Howser Trophy Finalist, an award that recognizes the top collegiate baseball player. (The news came just hours before the draft began.) Furthermore, Craig is a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, which rewards the top baseball player in the U.S.
Craig led the Demon Deacons with a .379 batting average, 16 home runs, 66 RBI and 563 runs scored. He ranks third nationally with a .731 slugging percentage.
“We couldn’t be happier for Will,” head coach Tom Walter said in a press release. “He turned down a decent-sized signing bonus out of high school because he believed in himself. It’s good to see that be rewarded, and we know he has an incredible future ahead of him.”
Over his career, Craig has a .347 batting average with 37 home runs and 160 RBI.
He’s the highest Wake Forest player to be selected in the draft since 2006.
“There isn’t anything Will can’t do on the baseball field,” Walter said. “He hits for power to all fields, possesses great strike zone discipline and has the best two-strike approach on the team. Defensively, he will play third base, first base, DH and pitch.”
Wake Forest finished the season with a 35-27 overall record and fell 8-3 to Minnesota in the NCAA College Station Regional on June 5.
Pittsburgh well represented in first round
There was quite a bit of local flare in the first round of the draft as Plum High School’s Alex Kiriloff and Pitt’s T.J. Zeuch were both selected.
Kiriloff was drafted by the Minnesota Twins at pick No. 15, and Zeuch was taken 21st overall by the Toronto Blue Jays. (The Pirates had been said to be interested in Zeuch, but he was taken off the board one pick before they had the chance.)
Kiriloff is the first WPIAL high school pick since the Pirates selected Neil Walker in 2004. Kiriloff plays centerfield, but it’s likely he will shift to a corner spot as his playing career progresses. This past season, he batted .544 with three home runs, 23 RBI, a .645 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage.
“This kid can hit,” Twins scouting director Deron Johnson said to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “He has good strike zone consistently.”
Zeuch’s selection made him the highest draft pick in Pitt baseball history.
He has been a high strikeout pitcher, recording 205 KOs in 212.6 total innings of work. He was 6-1 in 10 starts this season after missing the first four weeks of the season due to injury. Zeuch, who was profiled earlier this week by PSN’s Michael Waterloo, joins Al Lachowicz as Panthers drafted in the first round (the latter was selected by the Texas Rangers in 1981.)
“This has been my dream since I was five years old,” Zeuch said in a Pitt press release. “I can remember first picking up a ball and using my whole hand to throw it and my dad showing me how to hold a proper two-seam fastball. At that moment, I knew I wanted to play baseball for the rest of my life. Now the dream to put on a professional uniform is coming true.”
Image credit: @MLBDraft
