Colin Dunlap of the Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates will consider players other than Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon and UCLA pitcher Gerrit Cole with the top pick in the 2011 MLB Draft:
"It is not unanimous, I can tell you that," general manager Neal Huntington said. "Greg Smith is our scouting director and he's going to take all opinions into consideration. I'm not a power play type guy. Greg Smith is our scouting director and I have complete faith and trust in him. ... We're going to get a very good player, but it's a deeper draft than it is top-heavy."
Secondly, Huntington said, "the advisor of anyone we consider will have no impact on whether we select them or not."
That last bit can likely be viewed as a reference to super-agent Scott Boras, who represents both Rendon and Cole. Huntington has proven he's not averse to dealing with Boras - Pedro Alvarez, who was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 draft, is a Boras client. Those negotiations turned very messy after the draft deadline passed, with the Alvarez camp claiming he had actually agreed to a deal shortly after the deadline, and the two sides had to reach a new agreement. But Huntington has never shied away from tricky situations in the draft, and I don't know why he would start now.
There's no particular reason for the Pirates to tip their hand now, or even for them to have made up their minds already. Unless something dramatic changes, though, I would expect them to pick Rendon, or possibly Cole, next month.
