Pirates stress importance of hitting on draft picks

With Pittsburgh Pirates rookie right-hander Paul Skenes becoming the first player in major league history to go from No. 1 overall pick to the All-Star Game in the span of a year, it’s no wonder the focus of the MLB Draft is always on finding another generational talent.

The Pittsburgh Pirates no doubt hit the jackpot by selecting Skenes, who is 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA in his first 11 starts. While the majority of attention will be on their first-round pick, at No. 9 overall this year, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington emphasized the importance of the picks that follow their first-rounder to their longterm success. They have four picks in the top 100 and six in the top 150 this year, including the No. 9 overall pick, a Competitive Balance-A round pick at No. 37, a second- rounder at No. 47 and a third-rounder at No. 83.

“It’s critical, period,” Cherington said. “We have to be good at it and we have to be good at the development piece, too. We have to be totally committed to keep getting better at both of those things forever.”

The Pirates found another rookie sensation, right-handed starter Jared Jones, in the 2020 second round and signed him to a $2.2 million bonus that was $510,000 above slot for the No. 44 pick. Their top prospect, right-hander Bubba Chandler, was chosen in the 2021 third round and signed for $3 million, or $2,129,300 above slot for the No. 72 pick. Seven of the Pirates’ top 10 prospects per MLB Pipeline were selected on the second day of the draft. And the Pirates have used three other prospects selected on the second and third days in trades to acquire major leaguers.

“Big league talent comes from everywhere, from the first round all the way through to the end,” said MLB.com draft analyst Jonathan Mayo, author of Smart, Wrong and Lucky: The Origin Stories of Baseball’s Unexpected Stars. “It’s important to scout the entire draft. You want to not miss on your first-round pick, especially when you pick at the top of the draft. More likely than not, it’s the first-rounder that’s the franchise- changing talent.

“Because of the bonus pool system, the fact that Bubba Chandler is their No. 1 prospect is not a surprise because they took him in the third round. They gave him firstround money to sign. That’s something that they need to continue to do. They need to be creative when they can.”

Mayo stressed the importance for the Pirates to draft for both volume and quality to add talent and depth to their minor league system. Despite 2020 being graded a “great draft” for the Pirates by Baseball America because of Jones’ early success, it only met one of the requirements given that it was shortened to five rounds due to the pandemic.

The Pirates used the No. 7 overall pick to take Nick Gonzales, now their starting second baseman, and the Competitive Balance-A pick to choose righty reliever Carmen Mlodzinski at No. 31. They added Jones and fellow pitchers Nick Garcia, Jack Hartman and Logan Hofmann, then traded Garcia to Colorado for outfielder/ first baseman Connor Joe and Hartman to Tampa Bay for first baseman/designated hitter Ji-Man Choi.

Where the choice of catcher Henry Davis with the No. 1 overall pick in 2021 raised eyebrows – he signed for a below-slot bonus of $6.5 million – they used the $1.92 million in savings to spend on above-slot bonuses to four top-100 prep prospects who were considering going to college.

The Pirates chose lefty Anthony Solometo in the second round (37th), center fielder Lonnie White Jr. in the Competitive Balance-B round (64th), Chandler in the third round (72nd) and outfielder Braylon Bishop in the 14th round. Both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline rank Chandler their top prospect now that Skenes has graduated, with Solometo No. 3 and White No. 10 by MLB Pipeline.

It’s too early to predict how the 2022 draft class will fare but the Pirates got a generational prep hitter in Termarr Johnson with the fourth overall pick, then took college players in righty Thomas Harrington and lefty Hunter Barco, third baseman Jack Brannigan and outfielder Tres Gonzalez, with lefty prep pitcher Michael Kennedy in the fourth round.

All six are ranked among their top 30 prospects, with Johnson at No. 2, Harrington No. 4, Brannigan No. 8, Barco No. 12, Kennedy No. 13 and Gonzalez No. 25 by MLB Pipeline.

Last year, in addition to Skenes, the Pirates selected their No. 6 prospect in shortstop Mitch Jebb in the second round and righthander Zander Mueth (No. 11) in the Competitive Balance-B round with the 67th pick. The Pirates also appear to have discovered gems in fifth-rounder Patrick Reilly, a right-hander now ranked their No. 7 prospect by Baseball America, and 13th-rounder Charles McAdoo, an infielder-outfielder now ranked 10th. Righty Austin Strickland, selected in the eighth round, was traded to the San Francisco Giants to acquire catcher Joey Bart.

“You don’t know what you’re getting when you take a guy in the 13th round but the area scout liked him and saw something and you never know when it’s going to click,” Mayo said. “It’s important for all organizations – but especially given how the Pirates operate to find talent wherever they can – to be creative in the draft and aggressive in the international market, because that’s where the value is.”

It isn’t lost on Cherington that the Pirates hit the lottery, both figuratively and literally, with Skenes. They beat the odds to win the inaugural draft lottery to get the No. 1 overall pick. And Skenes, who tossed seven no-hit innings at Milwaukee on Thursday, has been even more dominant than projected.

“You’re not going to have a year like that every year,” Cherington said. “Taking Paul Skenes out of it, we feel good about last year’s draft, the early signaling – including I’d say a handful of guys taken in the fourth, fifth round and beyond, even into Day 3, that have gone out and performed well and we think have a chance to be big leaguers and help us. We need production from all areas of the draft.”