West Virginia pitcher Carlson Reed selected by Pittsburgh Pirates in 2023 MLB Draft

West Virginia right-handed pitcher Carlson Reed has been selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the No. 104 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

The 6-foot-4 righty has featured mostly out of the bullpen in his three years with the Mountaineers, starting just 11 games in 58 appearances. That includes zero starts this past season as Reed settled in the closer role out of the bullpen.

It resulted in Reed’s best season. He was named to the All-Big 12 first team as he went 2-1 with seven saves. Reed had a 2.61 ERA, .232 batting average against and 60 strikeouts in 38.0 innings this season.

Despite being a reliever in college, there is belief among scouts that he could end up as a starter. Reed is the No. 196 overall recruit in MLB.com’s draft prospect rankings for this year’s draft.

“Reed does have a very real three-pitch mix, a big reason why scouts wanted to see the tall, thin right-hander start,” MLB.com’s scouting report on Reed reads. “His fastball has averaged around 95 mph and touched 98 mph in shorter relief stints this year, but it’s actually his third-best pitch, one that he doesn’t command well and gets hit when it lacks life. He sells his mid-80s changeup well with good arm speed, and his tight slider, thrown around the same velocity, has also generated a ton of swings and misses.

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 Carlson Reed will have until August 1 to sign a contract.