The Pittsburgh Pirates are making a run on right-handed pitching in the MLB Draft, taking their fourth consecutive by selecting Appalachian State senior reliever Jack Hartman in the fourth round (No. 108) on Thursday.
“I’m speechless,” Hartman said in a statement released by Appalachian State. “I know that might sound corny, but I don’t even know what to think. I wasn’t expecting it to happen at that time, and I’m really excited to be a Pirate.”
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Hartman recorded 22 strikeouts and four saves in 12 innings this spring. As a junior, he had 26 strikeouts in 21⅔ innings in 20 appearances. Hartman was a position player in his first two seasons, as a freshman at Tallahassee Community College and a sophomore at College of Central Florida.
“I started out as a hopeful new pitcher, and I didn’t really have any expectations until this spring,” Hartman said. “Now, being a fourth-round pick, that was never in my dreams going into this year. I couldn’t be any happier.”
Congrats to App State pitcher Jack Hartman on being selected in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh @Pirates! #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/j22Q3uhuPs
— App State Baseball (@AppBaseball) June 12, 2020
After taking New Mexico State middle infielder Nick Gonzales in the first round, the Pirates have picked four consecutive right-handers: Carmen Mlondzinski of South Carolina in the competitive balance round, Jared Jones of La Marida (Calif.) High School in the second round and Nick Garcia of Chapman University in the third.
