Pirates sign 15th-round pick Josiah Sightler
The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed 15th-round draft pick Josiah Sightler, a first baseman from South Carolina, leaving only four players unsigned out of their 21 selections.
MLB Pipeline senior writer Jim Callis reported that Sightler signed for a $125,000 bonus.
15th-rder Josiah Sightler signs with @Pirates for $125k. @GamecockBasebll 1B, 1.037 OPS with 15 HR, 6-5/234, lefty power is his ticket, athletic for size, also 91-94 mph off the mound. @MLBDraft
— Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 28, 2022
The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Sightler, who bats left-handed, hit .300 (51 for 170) with 11 doubles, a team-high 15 home runs and 31 RBIs in 51 games for the Gamecocks this past season and committed only two errors in 162 chances at first base. Sightler, who was signed by scout Cam Murphy, also throws 91-94 mph off the mound.
In SEC play this year, @JosiahSightler hit .340 with 11 home runs, 24 RBI and a .763 slugging percentage that was third in the league!!#Gamecocks | #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/fmMSNqMc6z
— Gamecock Baseball (@GamecockBasebll) July 5, 2022
The Pirates now have signed 17 of their 21 draft picks, with first-rounder Termarr Johnson the only unsigned selection of their first 12 picks.
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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