In 2005 former Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager Dave Littlefield used the team’s eighth-round draft pick on a college hitter Steve Pearce. Pearce had already been drafted twice, once out of high school and once before from college. He was viewed as a bat-first player with questions surrounding where he would play defensively.
Pearce quickly slugged his way through the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system and made his Major League debut in 2007 at the age of 24. He was a September callup in 2007, giving him just 23 games to make an impact. That he did, batting .