PNG’s Khristian Curtis drafted by Pittsburgh Pirates
Published 12:46 am Saturday, July 15, 2023
- Khristian Curtis delivers a pitch for the Arizona State Sun Devils during the 2023 season. (thesundevils.com)
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The Pittsburgh Pirates selected former Port Neches-Groves standout baseball star Khristian Curtis in 12th round of this year’s Major League Baseball draft.
The selection Tuesday made the Arizona State right-handed pitcher the 347th player selected.
At Arizona State in 2023, Curtis struck out 58 batters on the season.
Port Neches-Groves standout Khristian Curtis was selected in the 12th round of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft. (thesundevils.com)
Team officials said he recorded five or more strikeouts seven times on the year and was at his best against USC when he pitched a career-best 7 innings with no runs allowed.
Curtis stranded 76 percent of his baserunners on the season, the sixth-best tally in the Pac-12.
Before playing with Arizona State, Curtis suited up for the Texas A&M Aggies.
He appeared in five games during 2022 season, all starts.
He posted a 2-0 record in 19 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts and a 1.42 ERA.
Had career high seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched against Tarleton.
At PNG, Curtis earned All-District 22-5A First Team honors as a senior.
He registered a 4-1 record with a 0.35 ERA in 40 innings as a junior.
MLB
Beginning with their selection of Paul Skenes, the Pirates’ 2023 Draft was defined by pitching. The Bucs used 14 of their 21 selections on pitchers, including seven of their eight selections on pitchers on Day 2.
“Each selection afforded the opportunity of what was in front of us, and [we tried to] take advantage of that opportunity,” Pirates senior director of amateur scouting Joe DelliCarri said. “It certainly turned out that way — two-thirds of the numbers were pitchers — but nothing more than that.”
