Josh Bell (outfielder)

Josh Bell
Pittsburgh Pirates
First baseman / Outfielder
Born: August 14, 1992
Irving, Texas
Bats: Switch Throws: Right

Joshua Evan Bell (born August 14, 1992 in Irving, Texas) is a minor league baseball outfielder in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Drafted in the second round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft out of Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, Bell received a $5 million signing bonus, a record for a player outside of the first round, to bypass his college baseball scholarship to the University of Texas at Austin.[1]

Career

High school

Josh Bell attended Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas in Dallas, Texas.[2] In his senior season at Jesuit, he had a .548 batting average and 1.054 slugging percentage with 13 home runs, 54 runs batted in and 54 runs scored.[2] He was named to the USA Today All-USA high school baseball team and was also named the Gatorade/ESPN Rise Texas Player of the Year.[1]

2011 draft

Bell committed to attend the University of Texas at Austin on a scholarship that would allow him to play college baseball for the Texas Longhorns baseball team in the Big 12 Conference.[1] Baseball America rated Bell as the nation's top corner outfielder available in the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. However, Bell sent a letter to the Commissioner of Baseball's office, indicating that teams should not select him, because he would follow through with his commitment to Texas, and would not sign a professional contract if drafted.[3]

The Pirates drafted Bell in the second round (61st overall) of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. Bell took twelve credits at the University of Texas and worked out with the team's strength and conditioning coach during the summer.[3] Bell and the Pirates agreed to a contract with a $5 million signing bonus shortly before the August 2011 signing deadline. The signing bonus was a record for a player drafted in the second round.[1] The Pirates gave out a record $17 million in signing bonuses to their 2011 draft class, surpassing the $11.93 million the Washington Nationals spent on their 2010 draft class.[4][5]

Professional career

The Pirates assigned Bell to work out with the State College Spikes, but as the season was ending, he did not appear in a game with the Spikes in 2011.[1] Bell participated in the Pirates' fall instructional league.[6] Bell was ranked the 69th best prospect in baseball by MLB.com before the 2012 season.[6][7] He began the 2012 season with the West Virginia Power of the Class-A South Atlantic League.[6] However, on April 24, 2012, Bell hit what would have been a double, but pulled up limping rounding first base, and was tagged out standing between first and second with an injury. Bell ended up having a partial tear of his meniscus, on the lateral part of the meniscus in his knee. Bell missed almost all of the 2012 minor league season, and was out longer than expected due to swelling in the injured knee.[8]

Bell played for the West Virginia Power of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2013.[9] He batted .279 with 13 home runs and 37 doubles in 119 games.[10] Bell opened the 2014 season with the Bradenton Marauders of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League (FSL), and appeared in the 2014 All-Star Futures Game.[11] After hitting .335 with nine home runs and 35 RBIs for Bradenton, the Pirates promoted Bell to the Altoona Curve of the Class AA Eastern League on July 17. After the season, he was named the FSL Player of the Year. The Pirates assigned Bell to the Arizona Fall League after the 2014 season, where he played exclusively as a first baseman, due to the Pirates carrying Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, and Gregory Polanco in their major league outfield.[12][13][14]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Cipriano, Guy (August 31, 2011). "High pick to join Spikes | Sports". CentreDaily.com. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Pirates sign top two draft picks". Post-gazette.com. August 16, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Biertempfel, Rob (August 20, 2011). "For draft pick Bell, Pirates were best option - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review". Pittsburghlive.com. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  4. ↑ Langosch, Jennifer (August 16, 2011). "Pirates ink No. 1 pick Gerrit Cole, second-rounder Josh Bell". MLB.com. Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Pirates think big and spend big in draft". USA Today. August 16, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Langosch, Jennifer (January 24, 2012). "Jameson Taillon leads Pittsburgh Pirates prospects among MLB.com's Top 100". MLB.com. Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  7. ↑ "2012 Prospect Watch | MLB.com: Prospects". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  8. ↑ Williams, Tim (July 26, 2012). "Why Has Josh Bell’s Rehab Taken So Long?".
  9. ↑ Profile, post-gazette.com; accessed June 12, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Pipeline Perspectives: Bell ready to join Top 100". Pittsburgh Pirates. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  11. ↑ "MLB Futures Game: Elite Pirates prospect Josh Bell hitting stride". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Bell on the move". Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Josh Bell to play first base exclusively this winter". Yahoo Sports. August 31, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  14. ↑ http://tomsinger.mlblogs.com/2014/08/26/crowded-outfield-josh-bell-moving-to-fir st-base/

External links