Today is the deadline for signing 2018 MLB draft picks, and as per Jim Callis, the Pirates made one final signing, inking 13th-round pick Zack Kone to an above-slot bonus of $166,700.
Kone, a junior from Duke University, is a right-handed shortstop listed at 6’3’’ and 200 lbs. He has been a three-year starter at short for the Blue Devils, and has shown steady improvement with the bat, posting a .300/.359/.449 batting line in 2018. Baseball America’s final pre-draft rankings listed him as the #228 prospect in the draft, expressing concern over his “inconsistent - and sometimes violent - .