Brennan

Malone

Malone, 19, was a compensation round pick by Arizona in last year’s Draft. He has only eight innings of professional ball under his belt but is an interesting long-term upside arm for the Pirates’ system. Malone was ranked by MLB.com as the Diamondbacks’ No. 9 prospect.

Malone is considered one of the best prep arms in the class, so this is a bit of a coup with the 34th selection. His fastball and slider combination are plus -- the fastball might be double-plus with the ability to get up to 98 mph -- and he also throws two more solid pitches. Milone needs to work on his mechanics and show more consistency, but there’s significant upside in his right arm.

Malone will receive $2,202,200, which is the full slot value for the No. 33 overall pick. A compensation pick for losing Patrick Corbin to free agency, Malone was one of the best prep arms in this year’s draft class and sits in the mid-to-high 90s with his fastball. The Diamondbacks did quite well to stock up on upside in this draft.