Pirates To Sign Competitive Balance Pick Connor Joe

The Pirates have agreed to sign compensation round A selection Connor Joe, reports MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo (via Twitter). Joe will receive a bonus of $1.25MM. He was taken with the 39th overall pick, which carries a $1,457,600 slot allocation.

The University of San Diego product was rated as the 102nd-best draft-eligible player by Baseball America and was slotted at 110 by Mayo and Jim Callis of MLB.com. According to BA, Joe is a line-drive hitter with a patient approach. He has primarily served at first base during college, but has also seen time in the outfield and, most intriguingly, behind the plate. While Joe is still working to develop his skills as a backstop, BA says that he has the tools to potentially stick at the position.

According to MLB.com’s bonus tracker, the Bucs have now inked each of their selections from the first ten rounds. All said, Pittsburgh is now $130.9K beneath its potential achievable bonus allocation of $5,606,100.