Pirates Select Josh Bell In 2nd Round
The Pittsburgh Pirates today announced they have selected outfielder Josh Bell in the second round (61st overall selection) of the annual First-Year Player Draft.
Bell hit .548 with 13 home runs, 54 RBI, 54 runs scored with a 1.054 slugging percentage as a senior this year for Dallas Jesuit (TX) High School, where he helped lead his team to the Class 5A regional semifinals. He also struck out just five times in his 139 plate appearances this season.
The 6-foot-3, 206-pound switch hitter was rated by Baseball America as the top corner outfielder and fifth-best position player overall available in this year's Draft. As a senior at Dallas Jesuit he was also named the 2010-11 Gatorade/ESPN Rise Texas Baseball Player-of-the-Year.
Bell is a first round talent but is a risky pick because he told ML teams not to draft him because he plans on attending Texas.
