3.84 Pittsburgh Pirates - Mel Rojas Jr., OF, Wabash Valley CC (IL)

The Pirates spent the 84th overall pick on Mel Rojas Jr.

Follow the jump for his pre-draft report.

Mel Rojas Jr.   Position: OF   School: Wabash Valley JC   State: IL   Year: Fr.   Height: 6’3’’   Weight: 195

Bats: B   Throws: R   Birth Date: 5/24/90   Seiler Rating: 1C2   Last Drafted: Never

*Missed due to academic ineligibility

Mel Rojas Jr. is an athletic outfielder from Wabash Valley Junior College in Illinois. Rojas originally came to Wabash Valley from the Dominican Republic, having passed over offers by teams as an international prospect. He’s the son of the former Major League pitcher of the same name, and that’s why he was able to follow this non-traditional route to joining professional baseball. Since he grew up in the Dominican Republic, the transition to stateside education seemed to be the toughest obstacle to overcome for him, as he was ineligible academically a year ago, taking a redshirt. As a redshirt freshman this spring, though, he’s taken a huge step forward, and the scouts that like him say that he can become a potential starting center fielder at the Major League level with some work on his good tools. Those tools include an above-average hit tool and fringe-average power, and he’s an above-average to plus runner. He stole a tremendous number of bases this spring thanks to huge jumps and subpar defensive work, and while he won’t match those numbers as a pro, he’s an aggressive runner that can read pitchers quite well. Defensively, he has a chance to be a solid-average defender in center field, and he has an above-average arm. Though he’s not going to be mistaken for a Gold Glove center fielder, he should do enough to stick there as a solid defender. He’s not universally liked in the scouting community for his tools, but there’s been enough to like that teams might take a second or third round pick on him, and he’s expected to be signable for slot money in that range.