2023 Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Recap

Welcome to my annual-ish Pittsburgh Pirates draft recap. While my recaps are usually light-hearted and intended to be funny, I'm going to start with an actual baseball opinion.

1st Round: Paul Skenes - P, LSU

I love this pick. If you want to win in the playoffs and get to the World Series, you need to have an elite pitcher or two. Let's look at the top pitchers for the last five World Series champions.

2022: Houston Astros - Justin Verlander (future Hall of Famer); Framber Valdez (now a 2-time All-Star in only his 6th season)

2021: Atlanta Braves - Charlie Morton (2x All-Star); Max Fried (finished top 5 for the Cy Young in 2020 and 2022). 

2020: Los Angeles Dodgers - Clayton Kershaw (future Hall of Famer); Walker Buehler (2-time All-Star); Julio Urias (Finished top 7 for Cy Young in 2021 and 2022)

2019: Washington Nationals - Max Scherzer (future Hall of Famer); Stephen Strasburg (4-time All-Star)

2018: Boston Red Sox - Chris Sale (7-time All-Star); David Price (5-time All-Star, Cy Young award winner)

You have three first-ballot Hall of Famers in this group and several others that would fall into the Hall of Really Good. While the 2021 Braves may not have had an "elite" starter, Morton and Fried are both really, really good, and Morton (7-5 record with a 3.60 ERA in 18 career playoff games) might have more playoff pitching experience than any active player.

The point I'm trying to make is that the Pirates need to have an ace. A #1 starter. A guy who can intimidate and shut down opponents. These guys aren't available very often, and the Pirates won't or can't trade for one (like the Dodgers did in 2021 for Scherzer) or sign one as a free agent (like Verlander to the Mets this season or wherever Shohei Ohtani may end up next season). Skenes could be that guy. His college stats are insane. The Pirates have to hope that his stuff translates to the majors and that Mitch Keller continues to pitch like he has the first half of the 2023 season. This could be an outstanding 1-2 combination!

Okay, that's enough "serious" baseball opinions. Now back to my usual draft recap where you'll read things you won't find anywhere else.

6th Round: Hunter Furtado - P, University of Alabama

He's like a bird, he'll only fly away.

3rd Round: Garret Forrester, 3B, Oregon State University

He could be the perfect spokesperson for Subaru. (Alternative draft recap idea: Run, Forrester, Run!) 

Competitive Balance Round B: Zander Mueth - P, Belleville East HS (Illinois)

Perfect pick for Pittsburgh. The crowd will go crazy anytime Mueth gets a strikeout. MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUETH

SEC Pitchers

Through the first 8 rounds, the Pirates drafted pitchers from LSU (Skenes), Vanderbilt (Patrick Reilly), Alabama (Furtado), Georgia (Jaden Woods), and Kentucky (Austin Strickland). It looked like the Pirates front office was trying to do the impossible. Draft pitchers from every SEC team! Unfortunately, the Pirates failed to draft anyone from any other SEC school on the third and final day of the draft. Both Magdiel Cotto (Alabama) and Garrett McMillan (Kentucky) pitched for SEC schools, but not Florida, Mississippi, Mississippi, Arkansas, etc.

19th Round: Tyler Kennedy - P, Florida Southwestern State College

I'm so impressed by Kennedy. He had a successful NHL career (including winning the Stanley Cup on the Penguins in 2008-2009), got his picture taken with Taylor Swift, and now is good enough to get drafted by the Pirates. Amazing!

2nd Round: Mitch Jebb - SS, Michigan State University

With the success of Mitch Keller this season, it makes perfect sense for the Pirates to draft another Mitch. I'm a little surprised the team didn't draft a dozen players named Mitch this year.

15th Round: John Lopez - C, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy

The MLB draft tracker on MLB.com is fantastic except for one thing. Under birthplace, the website shows Lopez and anyone else born in Puerto Rico as PR. The birthplace for Skenes, Jebb, etc. are all listed as USA. Last time I checked, Puerto Rico is part of the United States, so why not the USA for Lopez too?

18th Round: Kalae Harrison - SS, NC State University

Back in the 80s, the Pirates had a AAA team in Honolulu, the Hawaii Islanders. I can't imagine the logistics involved. The Pirates couldn't have just called up a AAA reliever for a weekend series in Philadelphia. It would take way too long for the player to arrive. The Pirates had to be sure the AAA player was going to stick around for some time. I mention this because maybe the Pirates organization feels bad for abandoning baseball in Hawaii. The perfect way to make it up to the Aloha state is to draft a player from Hawaii. Done!

20th Round: Peyton Stumbo - P, University of Nevada

Cut that meat! Cut that meat!

Let's Go Bucs!

Please click here to read previous Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins draft picks over the last decade. Enjoy!