The Pirates made their first post-draft signing Tuesday, picking up Sacramento State right-handed pitcher Parker Brahms on a free agent deal.
Brahms went 2-1 with a 1.14 ERA and 32 strikeouts over 23.2 innings pitched in 2020. Perhaps most impressively, he did not walk any batters.
Brahms' senior season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, but he was still able to set a new school record with 299 career strikeouts.
In his four years with Sacramento State, he went 18-14 with a 3.15 ERA. He has a good frame for a pitcher, being listed at 6'3" and 209 lbs..
Brahms was one of the Western Athletic Conference's best pitchers for his freshman, sophomore and senior years, but struggled his junior year, recording a 4.70 ERA over 15 starts. The junior season is considered the platform season for most teams and scouts, so that certainly hurt his draft stock.
Despite that down year, the Dodgers opted to take a chance and draft Brahms in the 27th round in the 2019 amateur draft, but he decided to return to college instead. In a normal 40 round draft, it would be safe to assume that he would have been selected in an earlier round than he was in 2019.
The Pirates have certainly found plenty of right-handed pitchers during this draft process, using five of their six picks in the draft on those types of pitchers.
Undrafted free agent bonuses are capped at $20,000 this year, and do not count against a team's draft pool bonus. There is no limit to how many undrafted free agents can sign.
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