Alabama pitcher Hunter Furtado selected by Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023 MLB Draft

Alabama left-handed pitcher Hunter Furtado has been selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the No. 167 overall pick in the sixth round in the 2023 MLB Draft.

The southpaw spent his first year at Wake Forest before transferring to the Crimson Tide. He spent most of the past two seasons out of the bullpen, pitching in 34 games with just two starts. Furtado had a 5.56 ERA over those appearances with a 2.61 batting average against and 71 strikeouts in 68.0 innings.

Furtado is the No. 192 overall recruit in MLB.com’s draft prospect rankings for this year’s draft.

“Furtado throws harder than most southpaws, working with a 93-96 mph fastball that reaches 98,” MLB.com’s scouting report on Furtado reads. “He’s 6-foot-4 and has a high arm slot, and his heater works well with carry up in the strike zone but tends to get hit when he operates lower in the zone. His best offering is a low-80s slider that combines sweep and depth, and it has so much life that he sometimes has trouble landing it for strikes.”

More on the 2023 MLB Draft

The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.

This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.

While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.

Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.

In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.

Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players like Hunter Furtado will have until August 1 to sign a contract.