Pittsburgh Pirates select Texas RHP commit Levi Sterling in 2024 MLB Draft

High school pitchers are highly valuable in the MLB Draft, with teams having the opportunity to develop young arms from the start. Another one has been taken in Arlington, with RHP Levi Sterling being selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the No. 37 overall pick.

Sterling comes out of Notre Dame High School in California, a program known for recently Hunter Greene and Giancarlo Stanton in years past. If Sterling can turn out to be at the levels of those two, it will turn out to be a great selection.

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Options are going to be available for Sterling, though. He recently signed his National Letter of Intent to play his college baseball with the Texas Longhorns. David Pierce put together a nice recruiting class but was let go of his position following an exit from the NCAA Tournament.

Sterling will have to decide whether or not going professional is the right route for him. If the pitcher decides to play in college, newly hired head coach Jim Schlossnagle would enjoy a capable arm joining his program for the 2025 season and beyond.

What MLB scouts are saying about Levi Sterling

MLB.com provided us with a scouting report on Sterling prior to the draft. He ranked as the No. 58 overall player in the cycle, viewed as someone with an immense amount of potential. Especially for someone who was not a full-time pitcher during high school, still picking up the bat and playing in the field on non-pitching days.

“While Sterling will play shortstop and likely pitch once a week during the high school season, it’s his upside on the bump that has the industry excited,” the scouting report said. “He has a loose, clean arm action coming from a three-quarters slot and a lean, athletic body that points to a lot of projection. He’s already throwing his fastball in the 92-mph range, touching 94 with ride and run, and he can really spin the baseball with a plus 80-mph curve he can throw for strikes and an effective mid-80s sweeper.

“His changeup is an emerging pitch and could eventually give him a fourth above-average-or-better offering. There were times this spring when his stuff trended in the wrong direction, though some scouts felt that might have been a matter of fatigue from playing shortstop regularly when he wasn’t pitching.”