Pirates select Wake Forest infielder Craig with 1st-round pick in MLB Draft

With the eighth pick of the 2001 draft, the Pirates drafted John Van Benschoten, who led Division I baseball in home runs that spring — and developed him as a pitcher.

Injuries derailed Van Benschoten's career. He posted a 9.20 ERA over parts of three seasons with the Pirates.

With their first pick in the draft Thursday — the 22nd overall selection — the Pirates selected one of the class's top college hitters: Wake Forest junior first baseman/third baseman Will Craig.

But when baseball commissioner Rob Manfred stepped to the podium, he announced Craig as a right-handed pitcher.

This time it was a typo.

“We were like, ‘A pitcher? What?' ” said Craig of he and his family's reaction. “As soon as that happened, (the Pirates) texted me and said, ‘You were drafted as a third baseman, not a pitcher.' Still kind of funny.

“I was obviously ecstatic. I know Pittsburgh is a great city with a lot of rich history. … I'm real excited to be part of it.”

With their second pick (41st overall), the Pirates selected Nick Lodolo, a 6-foot-6 left-handed pitcher from Damien (Calif.) High School.

With the 68th overall pick and their final selection Thursday, the Pirates took right-hander Travis MacGregor from East Lake High (Fla.)

Craig posted a 3.54 ERA in 19 games as Wake Forest's closer, but it's his bat that made him a first-team All-American each of the past two years, as well as a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist. The right-handed hitter hit .379 with 17 home runs, a .520 on-base percentage and .731 slugging percentage for the Demon Deacons this spring.

“If you're a team that values analytics, you're going to like him,” MLB analyst Jonathan Mayo said during MLB Network's telecast. “He draws walks; you look at the on-base percentage. The power will play on the next level, I think. He's going to have to watch the body and work on conditioning, but the Pirates have done a good job with that.”

Former Colorado Rockies general manager and MLB Network analyst Dan O'Dowd compared Craig to C.J. Cron of the Los Angeles Angels.

“I do think he has to move to first base. I do think there is limited athleticism,” O'Dowd said. “But this kid has preformed everywhere he has gone.”

It was the seventh consecutive first-round pick, covering four drafts, the Pirates spent on a position player. Craig joins Austin Meadows and Reese McGuire (2013), Cole Tucker and Conner Joe (2014) and Kevin Newman and Ke'Bryan Hayes (2015) as position players taken with first-round picks.

The 18-year-old Lodolo became the first pitcher the Pirates selected with a first-round pick — the lottery round is considered the first round — since Mark Appel in 2012.

In its mock draft Tuesday, Baseball America had the Pirates selecting Craig. Wrote Baseball America: “With his thick 6-foot-3, 235-pound body, Craig has hit double-digit home runs the past two springs and has great feel for the strike zone. But because of the hitter friendliness of Wake Forest's home park and a lackluster showing in the Cape Cod League last summer, some scouts question how much Craig's power will translate with a wood bat.

Craig's position is also in question. He has the arm strength to play third — he throws in the low- to mid-90s off the mound — but his body and range could force a move to first base.”

The lanky, 180-pound Lodolo was rated 78th overall on Baseball America's board.

“What the Pirates see in Lodolo is he drives the ball downhill and keeps the ball down in the strike zone,” Baseball America's John Manuel said.

With Plum outfielder Alex Kirilloff and Pitt right-hander T.J. Zeuch off the board, the Pirates did not have the option of taking a local product. Underclassmen have until July 15 to sign.

Travis Sawchik is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at tsawchik@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Sawchik_Trib.