In the 2011 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft the Pittsburgh Pirates selected high school hitter Josh Bell in the second round of the draft. Bell was already enrolled at the University of Texas, which was the only reason he was not drafted in the first round of the draft, but after being offered a $5 million signing bonus – the largest in draft history for a player selected in the second round – Bell decided to forgo college and turn pro.
With the hype that was around Bell and the signing bonus he received, the expectations were immediately very high for the switch-hitter.