The Pittsburgh Pirates today signed the following players from the 2019 First-Year Player Draft. The announcement was made by Joe DelliCarri, Pirates Senior Director of Amateur Scouting.
Round Name Position Height/Weight School Affiliate Assignment
22 Andres Alvarez INF 5-9/170 Washington State University GCL Pirates
Batted .289 (59-for-204) with 13 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 19 RBI in 53 games as a senior in 2019… Earned All-Pac 12 honorable mention accolades in 2017 after leading Washington State with 60 hits.
Round Name Position Height/Weight School Affiliate Assignment
25 Evan Goforth C 5-10/190 Carson-Newman College (TN) Bristol
Hit .318 (61-for-192) with 19 doubles, two home runs and 31 RBI in 50 games as a redshirt sophomore in 2018...Became the first catcher to be an all-conference pick and a Gold Glove winner in the same season for Carson-Newman…Was named to the 2018 South Atlantic Conference All-Defensive team and the All-SAC second-team.
Round Name Position Height/Weight School Affiliate Assignment
26 Ryan Troutman RHP 6-0/212 Lander University (SC) Bristol
Went 1-0 with seven saves, a 2.96 ERA (69.1ip/9er) and 30 strikeouts in 21 appearances as a senior in 2019...Ranked fourth in saves (7) in the Peach Belt Conference in 2019.
Round Name Position Height/Weight School Affiliate Assignment
27 Samson Abernathy RHP 6-0/195 University of the Pacific (CA) Bristol
Went 0-2 in 17 appearances and struck out 18 batters in 18.0 innings as a senior in 2019…Previously pitched for Feather River College in Quincy, CA, where he went 6-3 with one save and a 3.80 ERA (71.0ip/30er) in his two years there.
Round Name Position Height/Weight School Affiliate Assignment
28 John (Bear) Bellomy RHP 6-3/200 Wright State University (OH) Bristol
Went 9-3 with a 3.57 ERA (95.2ip/38er) and 74 strikeouts in 15 starts as a senior in 2019…Tied for first in the Horizon League in wins and ranked first in complete games (three)…Was a 2019 All-Horizon League first-team selection…Goes by the name “Bear” because he was born at 12 pounds/eight ounces with a full head of hair.
Round Name Position Height/Weight School Affiliate Assignment
31 John Bissonette INF 6-0/175 Baylor University Bristol
Hit .273 (54-for-198) with eight doubles, three triples, four home runs and 29 RBI in 54 games in 2019…Was a 2018 All-Big 12 honorable mention…Graduated from Orange Lutheran High School, where he was named a first-team all-league in 2015.
Round Name Position Height/Weight School Affiliate Assignment
36 Jake Sweeney LHP 6-5/200 Pensacola (FL) State College GCL Pirates
Went 2-5 in 31.0 innings pitched with 42 strikeouts in 10 starts as a freshman in 2019…Was ranked 250th in the nation by Perfect Game for the class of 2018…Was a 2018 Perfect Game pre-season All-American team selection.
Round Name Position Height/Weight School Affiliate Assignment
39 Daniel Ross RHP 6-4/222 Millersville University (PA) GCL Pirates
Went 3-2 with a 3.62 ERA (27.1ip/11er) and 27 strikeouts in 12 appearances (five starts) in 2019…Attended Nile C. Kinnick High School, which is a Department of Defense Education Activity school in Yokosuka, Japan, where he played baseball, football and basketball.
The Pirates have now signed 23 players from the 2019 draft.