Belleville East pitcher celebrating his selection by the Pirates as he awaits assignment
Belleville East graduate Zander Mueth and the Pittsburgh Pirates already had a standing relationship prior to Sunday night’s Major League Baseball draft.
Mueth played with the Pirates’ East Coast Pro team in August of 2022 and initially got to know one of their scouts there. Then, Mueth said, he had “really good” meetings with the Pirates at the Major League Baseball draft combine.
It’s little surprise, then, that the Pirates drafted the hard-throwing Lancers right-hander in the second round of the draft and 67th overall.
“Obviously, I’m really excited,” Mueth said Tuesday morning. “I’m really excited to get in their organization and I definitely feel I can thrive in their organization. They’ve done really well with high school pitchers the last couple years.”
Mueth’s selection Sunday night set off a raucous celebration in the family’s home.
“Everybody kind of went crazy,” he said. “We had the whole family on my mom’s side over and my grandma and grandpa on my dad’s side ... everyone was going crazy because we were getting a little anxious.”
Mueth learned slightly ahead of time that the Pirates would draft him at No. 67 overall — a nugget he shared with his dad, Craig, but not his mother, Melissa.
“My parents were really excited,” Mueth said. “We kept a little secret from my mom. My dad knew before ... my advisor called me right before pick No. 66 to tell me the Pirates were going to draft me at 67. When my name was called my mom went crazy. We were all really excited.”
The slot value of the 67th overall pick projects a bonus of $1,128,200 for Mueth. The final dollar amount will become official in the coming days, Mueth said.
“I can’t say until after the draft is done. It will become public knowledge in a day or two,” he added.
The Pirates secured a 6-foot-6, 210 pound pitcher who consistently throws 95-96 mph with the ability to hit 99. Mueth’s pitching repertoire includes a fastball, slider and changeup.
Still early in the process, Mueth is unsure if the Pirates will utilize him as a starter or reliever. He prefers starting but would fully embrace relieving.
“We’ll just kind of see how I develop in their program and probably make a decision not this year or probably next year and see how I do in a couple years,” said Mueth, who had committed to Ole Miss in January 2021. “I would love to start but, honestly, whatever helps me be as good as I can be to make it into the major leagues is fine with me.”
Mueth said where he heads next has not yet been determined. The Pirates’ short-season A-affilliate is in Bradenton, Florida, where the team has its spring training. High-A is located in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“I don’t really know yet. I haven’t talked to them today,” he said. “My guess is I just end up going to ... their spring training facility and work out there for the rest of the year. It’s still being worked out as far as when I’m going down there.”
Until then, Mueth will continue regular workouts with his trainer, while “keeping my arm fresh playing catch every day still.”
Thankful for Belleville East players, coaches
In 37 1/3 innings pitched this spring for Belleville East, Mueth allowed just 23 hits and struck out 62 batters while posting a 2.63 earned run average. He also posted a WHIP of 11.63.
Mueth credited several of his teammates for helping him, including fellow Division I pitchers Ean DiPasquale (Minnesota State), Owen Kelly (Saint Louis University) and Dylan Mannino (Western Kentucky), along with catcher Pat Mendiola.
He also praised the Lancers coaching staff of Ryan Wiggs, Mark Brockman and Todd Blomberg.
“Being able to play at East with three other D-I guys and having Patrick behind the plate rally helped,” Mueth said. “That really helped my growth working with the other pitchers. And then Coach Wiggs, Coach Brockman and Coach Blomberg helped me on the psychology side. All three of them are psychology teachers so they specialize in that area. That helped me a lot this year.”
Wiggs is thrilled for Mueth.
“I am so proud of him,” the Lancers head coach said Monday morning. “It’s so cool to see this all come to fruition. I’ve known him from junior high coming to our high school camps and have gotten to know him obviously the last few years. He’s such a hard worker and really deserves it all.”
This story was originally published July 11, 2023 at 12:50 PM.