According to MLB.com former Tiger Pitcher Daniel Moskos has in fact signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Moskos was taken in the first round as the number 4 overall pick in this years amateur draft. He reportedly has received a $2.5 million signing bonus from the club and will likely spend the next few seasons in their minor league system. Moskos is expected to begin playing for the GCL Pirates of Bradenton,Florida as he conditions to begin his ascent to the major leagues.
" Let's hope he fares better in Pittsburgh than Kris Benson did"
We’ve already mentioned that Catcher Doug Hogan has decided to return to Clemson for his senior season. He is not the only holdout from Clemson’s draft class however, as teams have been unable to sign three others. The circumstance of why these players remain unsigned is a mystery at this time but we can always speculate. Taylor Harbin, a junior shortstop last season, is still unsigned by the Diamondbacks after being selected in the 8th round (#253 overall). We can speculate that the money just isn’t right yet, or that
P.J. Zocchi, junior right-hander selected by the Indians in the 36th round ( #1092 overall) remains unsigned as well, along with shortstop Stan Widmann who was taken by the A’s in the 39th round (#1187 overall). Just a reminder, this is all speculation, but these players all have a year of eligibility left so they might be contemplating a return. History has shown us that being drafted in such low rounds (anything more that 10th or 11th, I think) doesn’t often result in making it to the big dance. If it were me in these situations, being drafted in the 30+ rounds, and I had another season of eligibility left, I might use it to see if I could get my stats up and bring a higher price in the next years draft. Widmann specifically after his injury plagued season last year. If he can return to the starting lineup in the upcoming year he might make it to at least the top 10 rounds in next season’s draft. Who knows what these players are thinking, let’s hope some of them follow Hogan’s lead and return for another run at the CWS.
On a side note, my “real” job has prevented me from working on my project that tries to find a link between when the draft is held and how well a team with a high number of draft picks does in college postseason baseball. But I’m still working on it, so look forward to an in-depth look into the amateur draft and why Clemson hasn’t won the CWS , yet.
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