Pirates' selection of Josh Bell highlights second day of MLB Draft

After taking the draft's top pitcher, Gerrit Cole of UCLA, with the first pick on Monday, the Pittsburgh Pirates decided to go after the No. 1 outfielder during the second day of the Major League Baseball First Year Player Selection Draft.

Josh Bell of Dallas Jesuit (Texas) was the top player not chosen during the first 60 picks on Monday, due mainly to the fact that he sent a letter to MLB stating that he planned to honor his commitment to the University of Texas and thus no team should waste a draft pick on him.

The Pirates took the gamble, however, and chose Bell with the first pick of the second round. The Pirates made a similar gamble last year when they tabbed Stetson Allie with their first pick of the second round.

Bell was not the only first-round talent to last to the second day. Daniel Norris of Science Hill (Johnson City, Tenn.) was also expected to go on the first day, but he was not selected until the 74th pick of the draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. At one time, Norris was considered the top high school pitching prospect in the draft, however rumored signability issues surrounded him on draft day as he has committed to play at Clemson.

The Toronto Blue Jays spent the most draft picks on high school players during the first 30 rounds. Toronto has 22 high school players drafted, led by an outstanding group of pitchers that includes Norris, Tyler Beede of Lawrence Academy (Groton, Mass.), Aaron Nola of Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.) and Andrew Suarez of Columbus (Miami).

The Tampa Bay Rays have also used many of their picks on high school players, 17 in all, but they have focused more on position players. Among the position players chosen by the Rays were third baseman J.D. Davis of Elk Grove (Calif.), shortstop Johnny Eierman of Warsaw (Mo.), third baseman Tyler Goeddel of St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.) and outfielder Williams Jerez of Grand Street Campus (Brooklyn, N.Y.).

The second day of the draft featured some familiar names, including Trevor Gretzky of Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.), Dereck Rodriguez of Monsignor Pace (Miami), Ryan Garvey of Palm Desert (Calif.) and Shawon Dunston Jr. of Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.)

Gretzky, the son of hockey great Wayne Gretzky, went in the seventh round to the Chicago Cubs. Rodriguez, son of MLB all-star catcher Ivan Rodriguez, went in the sixth round to the Minnesota Twins. Garvey, son of former Dodger great Steve Garvey, landed with the Philadelphia Phillies with the last pick of the 15th round. Dunston was chosen by his father's former team, the Chicago Cubs, in the 11th round.

One high school team from Southern California did have three players selected during the first two days of the draft, but it wasn't the Edison Chargers, as expected. Instead, Westchester (Los Angeles) of the Los Angeles City Section landed three players including shortstop Kenny Peoples-Walls (No. 140 to the Cardinals), pitcher Jamaal Moore (No. 314 to the Dodgers) and first baseman Robert Gsellman (No. 402 to the Mets).

The draft continues today with rounds 31-50. Among the members of the MaxPreps Top 100 still available include No. 16 Dylan Davis of Redmond (Wash.), No. 28 Philip Pfeifer of Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.), No. 29. John Hochstatter of San Ramon Valley (Danville, Calif.), No. 30 Ricardo Jacquez of Franklin (El Paso, Texas) and No. 31. Elvin Soto of Xaverian (Brooklyn, N.Y.).