When Ben Cherington was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates it caused excitement amount the fan base for a lot of reasons. However, the biggest reason was the reputation he had for being able to build up a strong farm system, especially through the Major League Baseball Draft.
Cherington had an opportunity to make an impact with his first draft with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. This year he had three picks inside the top 50 overall selections. It was expected that the Pittsburgh Pirates would focus on college players and they did with their first two picks by taking Nick Gonzales and Carmen Mlodzinski.