In a very catcher bare system, the Pittsburgh Pirates need to be looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. They haven’t really had a notable prospect catcher in years. Maybe even since Neil Walker was coming up as a catcher. That was before he made the change to second base for the Pirates.
Dalton Cornett is a catcher out of Alice Lloyd College. He was given the opportunity to play pro baseball for the Lexington Legends this summer. Cornett was the starting catcher in his freshman and sophomore season. Prior to his college career, he was honored as a first-team high school All-American.
In 2018, Cornett was on fire. He had 142 chances, with 28 assists, along with 110 putouts, three double plays, and an amazing .972 fielding percentage. He only had four errors all year. Batting he was great as well. He hit .402, with 22 RBIs. 29 runs and stole 22 of 24 bases. He also hit for power with seven dingers, nine doubles, and two triples on the year.
After his college season, he played in the prospect league for the West Virginia Miners. He hit for a .318 average (28-for-88) with two doubles, a triple, and scored 12 runs. He also drove home 12 runs.
His 2019 campaign was very good yet again. He had 164 at-bats, with 61 hits, 14 doubles, four triples, and six homers. His line went .372/.616/.484 with 38 runs and 37 walks.
Sadly, Cornett didn’t have a 2020 college season, but he may of gotten something even better: a professional shot with the Lexington Legends in the Battle of the Bourbon Trail summer league. Cornett has already gotten to catch some great pitchers including, the legend himself, Robby Rowland.
Cornett is making the most of his professional career so far. He has former gold glover, and All-Star second baseman, Brandon Phillips at his arsenal too which is super awesome for a young catcher.
I really hope that the Pirates pursue Dalton Cornett. He is an all around awesome player. He would be awesome in the Pirates’ system and be able to play for the Bucs alongside Jacob Stallings in a year or two at max. For a young catcher he shows all the promise of being able to carry his talents with him up to the big stage. And with the Pirates, that would be amazing.
Moose Gibson is a Contributor for the Unwrapped Sports Network. Follow him on Twitter @midnightxmoose.