Walker is Pirates' first No. 1 pick from WPIAL

Pine-Richland catcher Neil Walker is hitting .650 with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pine-Richland catcher Neil Walker became the first Pittsburgh-area high school player drafted in the first round by the Pirates, going 11th overall Monday -- the same day he began play in the state playoffs.
Walker, the son of former major league reliever Tom Walker, is hitting .650 with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs. He was rated by Baseball America as the fourth-best position player and 14th best overall player in the annual June draft.
"It's probably the greatest feeling of my life," Walker said. "I've always been a Pirates fan and I've always wanted to play for the Pirates."
The Pirates never before had used a first-round pick on a player from the WPIAL. They scouted Walker for several years, with general manager Dave Littlefield regularly attending his games.
Switch-hitter
"Neil is a fine-looking high school catcher that has the potential to have an impact with the bat from both sides of the plate," Littlefield said.
"Neil Walker is a premium position bat," said Ed Creech, the Pirates' director of scouting. "We're excited to have his hitting potential and power potential in our organization, as well as his catching skills."
Walker, a switch-hitter, is the first WPIAL player chosen in the first round since Oakland selected pitcher Tim Conroy from Gateway High School in 1978.
Later in the day, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Walker played in the first round of the PIAA Class AAA playoffs against Peters Township High School. Walker led Pine-Richland to the WPIAL championship this season.
The Pirates had taken a pitcher with their first pick for six consecutive years and seven of the last eight. Walker is the first catcher drafted by the Pirates in the first round since Jason Kendall in 1992.
Injured by line drive
The Pirates picked left-handed pitcher Paul Maholm out of Mississippi State with the eighth overall pick in last year's draft. Maholm was pitching for Class A Lynchburg when he was injured by a line drive to the face last month.
Outfielder J.J. Davis, the eighth overall pick in 1997, is the last position player the Pirates drafted in the first round. Davis is now on the Pirates' disabled list.
Tom Walker was a right-handed reliever for the Expos, Tigers and Cardinals from 1972-77, going 18-23 with a 3.86 ERA in 191 games, 17 of them starts. He was 7-5 with a 3.62 ERA for Montreal in 1973, his best season. He had a .152 batting average in 33 at-bats.