Pirates sign prep pitcher Levi Sterling to a $2.5 million bonus, plus 2 more draft picks
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The Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday signed three more draft picks, including prep pitcher Levi Sterling, who is a top-100 prospect, and assigned them to the Florida Complex League in Bradenton.
Sterling, who was selected No. 37 overall in the Competitive Balance-A round, was signed by scout Brian Tracy for a full-slot value bonus of $2,511,400, per Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.
The 17-year-old right-hander from Notre Dame Academy in Sherman Oaks, Calif., was rated as the No. 54 prospect by Baseball America and No. 58 by MLB Pipeline. A two-way player who also starred at shortstop, Sterling had a 2.62 ERA in 45 1/3 innings and batted .319 to earn Baseball America second-team All-America honors.
The Pirates also signed 14th-rounder Ian Farrow, a center fielder from Florida Gulf Coast, and 15th-rounder Ethan Lege, a third baseman from Mississippi.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Farrow led FGCU in slugging percentage (.750), batting average (.375) and OPS (1.254) this past season and set a single-season home run record with 21 in 2021. He was signed by scout John Koronka.
Lege, a 6-1, 215-pounder, led Ole Miss in batting (.323), slugging (.645) and doubles (11) while also recording a .424 OBP. He was signed by scout Darren Mazeroski.
The Pirates now have signed 10 of their 21 picks from the 2024 MLB Draft.