Will Craig

William Isaac Craig (born November 16, 1994) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Will Craig
Craig at the 2019 All-Star Futures Game
Pittsburgh Pirates – No. 31
First baseman / Third baseman
Born: (1994-11-16) November 16, 1994
Johnson City, Tennessee
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Career highlights and awards
  • ACC Baseball Player of the Year (2015)

Career

Craig attended Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee.[1] He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 13th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign. He attended Wake Forest University, where he played college baseball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.[2]

Craig was both a third baseman and pitcher at Wake Forest.[3] As a freshman in 2014, he had 189 at-bats over 54 games and hit .280/.357/.439 with eight home runs and 36 runs batted in (RBI). As a pitcher he appeared in seven games with one start and went 1–0 with a 4.05 earned run average (ERA).[4] As a sophomore, Craig was named the ACC Player of the Year after hitting .382/.496/.702 with 13 home runs and 58 RBI.[5] As a pitcher he was 3–4 with a 6.09 ERA and 39 strikeouts. After the 2015 season, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[6]

Craig was drafted in the first round in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the most recent first round pick out of Wake Forest until pitcher Jared Shuster in 2020.[7]

He signed and was then assigned to the West Virginia Black Bears where he batted .280 with two home runs and 23 RBIs in 63 games. In 2017, Craig played for the Bradenton Marauders, posting a .271 batting average with six home runs and 61 RBIs in 123 games,[8] and in 2018, he played with the Altoona Curve, batting .248 with twenty home runs and 102 RBIs in 132 games.[9] He spent the 2019 season with the Indianapolis Indians,[10] slashing .249/.326/.435 with 23 home runs and 78 RBIs over 131 games. Craig was named to the 2019 All-Star Futures Game.[11]

Craig was added to the Pirates 40–man roster following the 2019 season.[12]

References
  1. Williams, Trey (November 15, 2012). "Diamond life at Wake Forest attracts Science Hill senior Will Craig". Johnson City Press. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  2. Ongie, Dave (May 28, 2015). "Former Hilltopper Craig enjoys breakout season, named ACC player of year". Johnson City Press. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  3. Collins, Dan (April 16, 2015). "Craig is do-it-all player for Deacons". Winston Salem Journal. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  4. Sudden impact: Craig's freshman season at Wake Forest a success
  5. Deacons' Craig named ACC Player of Year
  6. "Wareham's Sowers wins Home Run Hitting Contest". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  8. "Will Craig Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  9. "Will Craig Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  10. Cheyne Reiter (March 30, 2019). "Quick Hitters with Will Craig". MiLB.com. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  11. Jim Callis (June 28, 2019). "Here are the 2019 Futures Game rosters". MLB.com. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  12. Adam Berry (November 20, 2019). "Bucs add top prospects Hayes, Cruz to 40-man". MLB.com. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
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