BRADENTON, Fla. – The 2017 Bristol Pirates will begin their season tonight, and the roster will be led by two promising pitching prospects in Braeden Ogle and Max Kranick. Both players were selected in the 2016 draft, showing a lot of early promise, with signs of more to come. The Pirates drafted two additional prep pitchers in the 2016 draft, and those two have been on a bit of a different path lately.
Travis MacGregor was drafted in the second round, and Austin Shields was taken in the 33rd round, signing only after competitive balance pick Nick Lodolo decided to go to TCU.