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Pirates Continue Spending Spree

Posted Aug. 8, 2009 10:04 pm by Jim Callis
Filed under: Signings

A day after spending $1,125,000 on eighth-rounder Colton Cain and $600,000 on fourth-rounder Zack Dodson, the Pirates went even higher to land another top draft talent. Pittsburgh agreed to terms Saturday with sixth-rounder Zack Von Rosenberg for $1.2 million, the highest bonus outside of the first round so far this year.

A righthander at Zachary (La.) HS, Von Rosenberg won state championship-clinching games in each of his four high school seasons (including his freshman year spent at Barbe HS). He’s very projectable at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds and has advanced command of a lively 88-91 mph fastball, a curveball and a changeup. He turned down a scholarship from defending College World Series champion Louisiana State to turn pro.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 8, 2009 at 10:04 pm by Jim Callis and is filed under Signings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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13 Comments

What kind of ceiling does Von Rosenberg have?

Posted by Ryan | August 9, 2009 at 12:43 am | Shortcut

Great news. The system is looking worlds better then it did 2 years ago under Littlefield and Co. 2012 and onward could be some interesting times for baseball in the ‘burgh again.

Posted by Philip | August 9, 2009 at 1:32 am | Shortcut

Further proof that the Pirates are doing all they can to build a winning team. This is a great day.

Posted by Michael Shaeffer | August 9, 2009 at 7:39 am | Shortcut

Do you have any details on why the Pirates would pay twice as much for a high school pitcher in the sixth round (Von Rosenberg) than they did for a high school pitcher in the fourth round (Dodson)? At draft time, Dodson was reportedly seeking a million dollars also.

Posted by BaylorDan | August 9, 2009 at 10:02 am | Shortcut

Does this means that Colvin who is also signed by LSU signs with Phils?

Posted by Owais | August 9, 2009 at 5:15 pm | Shortcut

Are the Bucs expected to sign Cooper?

Posted by Mike | August 9, 2009 at 6:10 pm | Shortcut

Because Von Rosenburg is better,plain and simple, and he was supposed to have an extremely strong commitment to LSU.

Posted by kstanz41 | August 9, 2009 at 6:17 pm | Shortcut

[...] after Zach Von Rosenberg inked a professional contract with a $1.2 million signing bonus I caught up with him while he was on his way to the airport. The last few days have been crazy for [...]

Posted by BaseballAmerica.com: Blog: Baseball America Draft Blog » Blog Archive » Catching Up With Zach Von Rosenberg | August 10, 2009 at 8:57 pm | Shortcut

Another Pirate pick signs: It was reported on a local So Cal baseball website that Pirates 10th round pick Joe Schoenfeld signed yesterday.

Posted by bbfan | August 12, 2009 at 4:49 pm | Shortcut

Already updated in our database a few hours ago . . .

Posted by Jim Callis | August 12, 2009 at 8:07 pm | Shortcut

Mr. Callis, since your ear is here… What do you think of this years draft. Am I wrong or does it seem like second-third round talent was deep through the 10th round?

It just seemed to me that there were dozens of second round/third round guys this year stretching decent bonusus to the 10th round and beyond.

What do you think?

Posted by bbfan | August 13, 2009 at 10:37 pm | Shortcut

I don’t think this draft was especially deep compared to an average year. I just think, despite MLB’s wishes, that teams are willing to pay for talent and value it more than MLB does.

Posted by Jim Callis | August 14, 2009 at 12:39 am | Shortcut

[...] Zack Von Rosenberg, RHP (A, Short Season): Von Rosenberg was a big over-slot signing last year for the Pirates, and has been developing well in State College so [...]

Posted by Top 20 Prospects: August 22nd, 2010 Edition | | August 22, 2010 at 11:10 pm | Shortcut

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The Draft Blog is a source of frequent updates about the draft and the top prospects eligible for the draft. If you have questions or comments you can e-mail them to draftblog@baseballamerica.com.