Pirates place premium on Cape Cod summer league success with first-day draft picks

The first round of their first MLB Draft together was lining up in a way that had Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and his baseball operations staff feeling “really good.”

The order of the picks wasn’t what they expected, as Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad went higher than expected at second overall to Baltimore and Vanderbilt shortstop Austin Martin lower by slipping to Toronto at No. 5.

Cherington watched his draft board with the plan to take the best player available with the seventh pick. When it was their turn, the Pirates did just that. They selected New Mexico State middle infielder Nick Gonzales, an NCAA batting champion who was ranked No. 5 player in the draft by MLB Pipeline and the highest-rated remaining prospect.

“Really went in knowing that we were going to take the best player, the highest player on the board, whoever that was, that was likely going to be our pick,” Cherington said on a Zoom call late Wednesday night. “I would say that we feel fortunate and excited that Nick was there.”

Our Skipper @derekshelton is fired up for @Nick_Gonzales13!

Same.#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/2Oht7iC5vi

— Pirates (@Pirates) June 11, 2020

Cherington not only publicly thanked amateur scouting director Joe DelliCarri and the baseball operations staff for their preparation on the Zoom call but personally credited area scout Derrick Van Dusen and regional crosschecker Jesse Flores in a news release for how they scouted Gonzales and got to know him on a personal level.

Might seem like a minor thing, but it's nice to see Cherington credit the area scout and crosschecker by name there. They put in so much work all year to prepare for these couple days.

— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) June 11, 2020

It was a signature moment for Cherington, sharing the credit in his first Pirates draft with a staff comprised of people he both brought aboard and inherited after being hired last fall to replace Neal Huntington. No wonder mental makeup played a role in the team’s first-day drafting both Gonzales, a former walk-on turned first-rounder, and South Carolina right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski with the 31st overall pick.

“All in all, we’re really excited to come away with both Nick and Carmen,” Cherington said, “two guys we feel can be an everyday position player and a starting pitcher in the big leagues.”

That both Gonzales and Mlodzinski starred in the Cape Cod League last summer is no coincidence, as the Pirates put plenty of stock into their performances in the wooden bat league. DelliCarri acknowledged its importance but warned of how “delicate” it can be to put too much emphasis into scouting and evaluating one season of summer ball.

There’s no question, however, that Gonzales proved three things: That he could hit with a wooden bat, do so at sea level and against tougher competition than he faced in the Western Athletic Conference. Mlodzinski, meantime, dazzled on the mound after missing most of his sophomore season with a broken foot. At the plate and on the mound, they confirmed to the Pirates what their scouts had been selling them.

“In both cases, the Cape actually was an important part of the process of seeing those two at two different times, one as a hitter with the wood and the other the timing with Carmen, coming off the lack of pitching innings,” DelliCarri said. “We got to see him do that there in the Cape.

“It just shows that timing and that kids develop at different stages. You have to be ready when they pop, or when they emerge. Most importantly is to get to know the player on the ground first. Most of the times when those players do pop, there’s usually reason behind it foundationally.”