The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed 10th-round MLB Draft pick Taylor Lewis, Pirates Prospects reports. He will be assigned to the State College Spikes and should receive plenty of time in the outfield. Baseball America ranked Lewis the fifth-best draft prospect in upper New England, for whatever that's worth - the area isn't exactly a baseball hotbed. He's fast and plays strong defense, according to Baseball America, although he has a weak arm. He has some potential with the bat as well.
Lewis is the sixth draft pick the Pirates have signed. Here's the full list:
6. Dan Gamache, 3B, Auburn
10. Taylor Lewis, OF, Maine
24. Brian Sharp, SS, California Baptist
29. Kirk Singer, SS, Long Beach State
30. Matthew Benedict, P, Western Carolina
31. Derek Trent, C, East Tennessee State
All six are college players. Much of the Pirates' draft focused on high school pitching, but many of those players are likely to wait until later in the process to sign. Many of them have college commitments and therefore have more leverage in negotiations than most college players do. Also, the Pirates will undoubtedly treat some of them as backup plans in case they are unable to sign second-round pick Josh Bell.
For more on the Pirates and the draft, check out Bucs Dugout.