Since this is a prediction thread, I was reading on mlb.com this morning a mock draft article. The author predicted the Pirates would take a middle infielder from Oregon State. I know these kinds of articles are meaningless and are just for fun but I found it interesting that the writer had the Pirates taking yet another middle infielder.
I'll be the first to admit that drafting a guy who plays shortstop is a good strategy because those guys tend to be one of their team's best players, if not the best. But, if it's true that the Pirates will take another one with their first pick, I begin to wonder if they ever bother to scout power hitting outfielders and first basemen? If there's one thing this organization lacks, from top to bottom, it's guys who hit home runs. Can someone remind me of a young, power hitting right fielder or first baseman playing here since the team moved into PNC Park?
I looked through the Huntington era drafts, first ten rounds, to see how many were actually selected as "if he doesn't hit for power, he's not going to make it" types. These are the guys I came up with:
#1: Wil Craig, 2016; Pedro Alvarez, 2008
#2: Josh Bell, 2011
#3: Jordan Luplow, 2014; Alex Dickerson, 2011
#9: Matt Hague, 2008
I didn't look at the Cherington drafts because I haven't followed them closely, and am not sure if I could characterize players correctly.
Babe Adams wrote: ↑Sun May 11, 2025 2:56 pm
I looked through the Huntington era drafts, first ten rounds, to see how many were actually selected as "if he doesn't hit for power, he's not going to make it" types. These are the guys I came up with:
#1: Wil Craig, 2016; Pedro Alvarez, 2008
#2: Josh Bell, 2011
#3: Jordan Luplow, 2014; Alex Dickerson, 2011
#9: Matt Hague, 2008
I didn't look at the Cherington drafts because I haven't followed them closely, and am not sure if I could characterize players correctly.
Thanks for that. Sadly, the most the Pirates got from that group was one decent year from Alvarez and one good half season from Bell. It's amazed me that after all these years in PNC Park, that the Pirates haven't drafted/obtained numerous lefthanded power bats to take advantage of the short right field wall.
