Pirates take Gonzales No. 7 overall

The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted slugging middle infielder Nick Gonzales out of New Mexico State seventh overall Wednesday in the Major League Baseball amateur draft.

Gonzales, who was picked as a shortstop by the Pirates, has one of the best pure bats in the draft, and it's not simply a product of being inflated by New Mexico's high elevation. He hit a Division I-leading .432 with 16 homers and 80 RBI, and capped his big year by winning the Cape Cod League MVP award while hitting .351 in the wooden bat college summer circuit.

Gonzales was hitting .448 and leading the country with 12 homers, 36 RBIs, 67 total bases and 28 runs this season, which was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Pirates followed up by taking right-handed pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski, out of South Carolina, 31st overall with their competitive balance pick.

The Detroit Tigers led off the night by taking Spencer Torkelson, who slugged his way through college, bashing baseballs all around the country with eye-popping power.

While Torkelson was long considered the favorite to go first overall, the surprise came when he was announced as a third baseman by Commissioner Rob Manfred, rather than a first baseman.

Detroit plans to move Torkelson to the hot corner from first base, where he played in college.

"It shows the amount of respect they have for me as an athlete," a smiling Torkelson said in an interview during the MLB Network broadcast. "I'll take it and run with it. I like to label myself as a baseball player, and you give me a bat, a ball and a glove, and you know what? I'm just going to want to win."

Arkansas outfielder Heston Kjerstad went No. 2 overall to Baltimore, which took Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman with the top pick a year ago.

After having the worst record in the majors last season, Detroit opened the draft for the second time in three years. The Tigers took Auburn right-hander Casey Mize in 2018, and now they've got a powerful bat that could anchor their lineup for years to come to go along with an arm they hope is a future ace.

With power to all fields and a great eye at the plate, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Torkelson established himself as college baseball's top slugger after going undrafted out of high school. He hit 54 home runs at Arizona State, two shy of the school record set by Bob Horner -- who was drafted No. 1 overall in 1978.

Torkelson likely would have obliterated that mark if his college season hadn't been canceled after just 17 games because of the pandemic. The Petaluma, Calif., native hit .340 with six homers and 11 RBIs this year.

The Cleveland Indians selected high-school shortstop Carson Tucker -- younger brother of Pirates shortstop Cole Tucker -- with the 23rd pick.

This year's draft was originally scheduled to be held for the first time in Omaha, Nebraska, as a lead-in to the College World Series. Instead, the coronavirus pandemic caused baseball to make drastic changes, including holding the draft remotely -- much like the NFL did in April -- and shortening it from three days with 40 rounds to just two days and five rounds.