What Pirates Could Do with First Draft Pick
Courtesy of The US Sun
The MLB Draft is July 9. The Pittsburgh Pirates have the first pick, which they had just two years prior in 2021, where they picked up Henry Davis. This draft class is stacked with great talents, even some being labeled as generational prospects. This opportunity for the Pirates could have a big impact on the future of the organization, especially when some of the prospects are close to MLB ready.
There are two obvious choices that the Pirates will likely decide between come draft day, Louisiana State University (LSU) teammates, pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews. But in 2021, the Pirates went with a cheaper pick to be able to get better picks later in the draft. They could make a similar choice for this draft, but with the talent from the LSU teammates, it seems incredibly unlikely.
Right now, Crews is labeled as the top prospect. This past season, he hit .426 with a .567 on base percentage, and a .713 slugging percentage with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs. He is the 2023 Golden Spikes Award winner and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Male Athlete of the Year, among many other awards. He is a great middle of the order bat and defender in the outfield. The one thing that could possibly deter the Pirates from selecting Crews, along with the heftier price tag (as Crews likely wants to sign with a high signing bonus), is that they already have a lot of top outfield prospects. And the outfielders that are on the roster currently are young, such as Jack Suwinski, or are signed through the following 8 years, such as Bryan Reynolds.
Paul Skenes is the next top prospect. He has come more into prominence with his performance in the College World Series, where he struck out 12, and threw 46 pitches over 100 MPH. That type of pitching is almost unheard of from a pitching prospect, as Skenes likely has the ability now to get out some MLB hitters. This past season he had a 1.69 ERA in 122.2 innings pitched with 209 strikeouts. The Pirates do have other pitching prospects, but they are nowhere near the level of Skenes and many of them are struggling or are fairly far out from the MLB. The Pirates also do have a history of selecting strong pitching prospects, the most notable example being Gerrit Cole, which could point to them selecting Skenes.
If the Pittsburgh Pirates wanted to do what they did in 2021, the other draft prospects are still very strong. Wyatt Langford, out of the University of Florida, has a stronger OPS than Crews at 1.284, with more power, and speed.
High school outfielders Walker Jenkins and Max Clark also have a lot of power, speed, and defensive capabilities, which could bode well for the Pirates.
For the Pirates’ future success, the talent in this draft offers them many opportunities to do just that. There aren’t necessarily any bad choices, but given the Pirates farm system and current lineup, Paul Skenes may be their best bet. He has great numbers, an almost MLB ready arm, and the Pirates have a past developing one of the best pitchers, which Skenes certainly could be.
