2026 Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Recap

Welcome to my annual-ish Pirates draft recap! As always, this is completely for entertainment and should not be used for actual analysis of these players. Please note that this post does not include all of the Pirates draft picks and is in no particular order.

Jason DeCaro - 3rd round, University of North Carolina, Pitcher

If you've listened to pop music over the last 15-20 years, you've heard songs by Jason Derulo, who sings his name in many of his songs.

Maybe the Pirates front office regularly listens to Derulo's music and thought it would be fun to draft a guy with a similar name. I really hope that DeCaro sings his name after recording a strikeout!

Alex Overbay - 8th round, Arizona State University, Pitcher

Overbay is the son of former Pirate great(?), Lyle Overbay. You might remember Overbay from his 103 games with the Bucs in 2011 where he hit .227 with 8 home runs and 37 RBIs. Fun fact: Alex Overbay is not a crocodile. (Unless, it's like a Teen Wolf thing where Overbay turns into a crocodile when there's a full moon or something.)

Andruw Giles - 4th round, Basic HS (Nevada), OF

Please be the son of Pirates great (no question mark needed) Brian Giles. Please be the son of Brian Giles. Please be the son of Brian Giles. Nope. Seems like his dad is Mark. Although Brian Giles has a brother, Marcus, who played in the majors, doesn't seem to be the same person. I guess we can settle on the fact that this Giles goes to a basic high school.

Griffin Stieg - 13th round, Virginia Tech, pitcher

Stieg spent the summer of 2023 playing for the Bethesda Big Train, part of the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League in the Washington DC area. While not as well-known or prestigious as the Cape Cod League, there are some really talented players in this league, and it's a lot of fun attending Big Train games at Shirley Povich Field. Close seats and a terrific environment. If you're in the DC area, I highly recommend checking out a Big Train game.

Tyler Fay - 6th round, University of Alabama, Pitcher

Bryson Moore - 7th round, Florida State University, Pitcher

One of my favorite TV shows from the last 15-20 years (basically since the arrival of Jason Derulo on the music scene) was the show Happy Endings. Such a fun and funny show. The back-to-back picks of Tyler Fay and Bryson Moore reminded me of this.

Nathan Helman - 17th round, Kennesaw State University, Pitcher

Although Nathan probably likes all types of condiments, we all know that he's a big mayo fan, and Duke's Mayo isn't his favorite brand.

Rohan Lettow - 12th round, San Diego State University, Pitcher

First, S-D-S-U, SDSU, Aztecs fight. Next, you don't mess with the Rohan!

This post is just filled with references from the late 2000s and early 2010s!

Spencer Evans - 11th round, TNXL Academy, Pitcher

Spencer (is) for hire. Just wanted to make a reference from the 20th century!

Tre Phelps - 9th round, University of Georgia, 3B

Phelps' aunt is Angel Robinson who played college basketball at Georgia and three seasons in the WNBA with the Seattle Storm in 2014 and Phoenix Mercury in 2017-2018. Based on his first name and family history, Phelps might be good at shooting from a long distance. Maybe from behind a certain line.

Chris Rembert - supplemental 2nd round, Auburn University, 2B

Rembert could be a work of art for the Pirates!

Okay, trying to connect Rembert with Dutch artist Rembrandt is definitely a stretch, but this post is about more than sports. Did you know that Rembrandt's name is actually Rembrandt van Rijn? And pictured above is arguably his most famous work, The Night Watch, painted in 1642. Feel free to tell all your friends that The Night Watch is your favorite work from the Dutch Golden Age!

Dakota Stone - 20th round, University of North Florida, Pitcher

This is clearly a fake name. I mean, Dakota Stone just sounds cool. Can't be real. Oh, maybe he' s related to former Steelers wide receiver Dwight Stone. Need to continue to balance out my references from 10-15 years ago with those from the 1980s!

Damarcus Rideout-Carter - 14th round, Heart Lake Secondary School (Ontario), Pitcher

While Rideout-Carter is also a cool name, let's focus on Canada. There were 10 Canadian-born players drafted this year. 4 of the 10 played college baseball in the United States. 3 of the 10 are position players. This means that in the entire MLB draft, there were only 3 high school pitchers drafted out of Canada. Of those 3 pitchers, Rideout-Carter is the only one from Ontario. While kind of neat, to paraphrase Dark Helmet, this means absolutely nothing.

Bonus pick: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (or whatever name they're using now)

In the 4th round, the Angels drafted Rylan Lujo, a pitcher from the University of Georgia. I know what you're thinking. Sean - Why are you including an Angels draft pick here? You don't even know their team name! Well, Lujo's grandfather is Rennie Stennett who was part of the Pirates 1971 and 1979 teams that won the World Series (though Stennett didn't play in the '71 series).

I hope you enjoyed this draft recap. Please feel free to check out draft recaps like this from previous years.

2025 Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Recap

I wasn't planning on writing my annual-ish Pittsburgh Pirates draft recap this year. There are a few other things I want to write about, and I just don't have much time to write right now. And then the draft started. And I started seeing names of players and had ideas of fun things to write about them. So welcome back to another draft recap. If you're new to these posts, please don't expect a detailed analysis of each pick with player comparisons and future predictions. While there might be a few interesting items below, this post is mostly silly things that amuse me. Oh, I'm not going to write about every draft pick either. Enjoy.

17th round: Carter Gwost - OF, Little Falls HS (MN)

Although I've never met him, I think Carter is a friendly Gwost.

14th round: Connor Hamilton - P, Montgomery Bell Academy (TN)

He's not going to throw away his shot.

Competitive Balance-B round: Murf Gray - 3B, Fresno State University

I had to read this several times to make sure that the Pirates didn't draft Smurf Gray. At 6'4" and 230, no one is going to call him Smurf.

4th round: Gustavo Melendez - SS, Colegio Nuestra Senora de la Merced

Melendez was one of only seven players born in Puerto Rico to be drafted. I don't know how many players from Puerto Rico are usually drafted, but this number seems low for a place with so much baseball history. And also...

7th round: Brent Iredale - 3B, University of Arkansas

Since Brent was born in Australia, I was ready for lots of Crocodile Dundee jokes. Instead, I wanted to learn how someone from Australia winds up playing college baseball in Arkansas, so I contacted my friend Phil who just happens to be the play-by-play announcer for Razorbacks baseball.

Brent played at a junior college in New Mexico the previous two years. Our team likes to get players from JUCO and he was one of the top JUCO recruits from 2024. He's athletic and strong. Runs well. Good strong and accurate arm. 

He just chose baseball as a kid even though his family was more into rugby or soccer. It's tough to get noticed in Australia, especially considering the competition they're playing. So he went to New Mexico JC because he needed to play in the states to get noticed properly.

My reply: I guess that makes sense. LIke if I was a really good Aussie Rules football player in Pittsburgh, I would need to go to Australia to get noticed (or something like that).

Phil wisely ignored my comparison and wrote this:

He's also one of just a few people ever to play in the Little League World Series and College World Series. 

Sorry. I couldn't resist.

9th round: Jared Jones - 1B, LSU

Love this pick, and it's not about his heroics in the College World Series. It's about the fact that the Pirates currently have a player on the roster with the same name. If there is another Paul Skenes or Oneil Cruz eligible for next year's draft, I hope the Pirates select him!

19th round: Brandon Cain - P, University of Oklahoma 

If he makes the majors, the Pirates need to acquire pitcher Mick Abel who is currently on the Phillies. Nothing like a little Bible humor for you.

12th round: Cameron Keshock - P, Samford University

Would you be Keshocked if this is the last player included in the post? Well, it is.

As always, you can read all of my Pittsburgh draft recaps from over the years here.

2025 Steelers Draft Recap

I often post recaps after Pirates, Steelers, and even Penguins drafts. They are generally unique with random comments and facts about players' names and backgrounds. While I'll get to some of that momentarily regarding the newest members of the Pittsburgh Steelers, we have to discuss the Steelers quarterback situation. Prior to the draft, the Steelers had two quarterbacks on the roster, Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. Rudolph was the Steelers' 3rd round pick in 2018. He has a career 14-14-1 record with 28 touchdowns, 20 interceptions, and 4,615 yards in 29 games. He is an average NFL QB though he gets bonus points for previously dating former Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard. 

I like Rudolph. He can win games in the NFL, but he's not at the same level as other AFC quarterbacks like Mahomes, Allen, Jackson, Burrow, and Herbert. Thompson was Miami's 7th round draft pick in 2022 and seems to be early in his career as an NFL journeyman. You wouldn't be surprised to see Thompson as the 3rd quarterback on someone's roster in 2030. You would be surprised seeing him start more than 1 NFL game in 2025. With all of this, the expectation was that the Steelers would draft a QB. And they did in Will Howard in the 6th round. As an Ohio State graduate, I love this pick, but this doesn't solve the Steelers QB situation this season. 

All of this leads to the assumption that the Steelers will sign 41 year-old Aaron Rodgers, a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer. I am not a fan of Rodgers. Everything seems to be all about him. So much drama surrounds him. That's fine when you're the league MVP. It's annoying when you're close to 42 and have been a league average QB at best the last few years. Rodgers seems to love the attention and the mystery. Does he want to sign with the Steelers? Would he rather retire? Will he go on another darkness retreat to decide? 

Those Steelers fans who want Rodgers point to the end of the 2024 season for some type of resurgence. Looking a little closer, the Jets scored 9 points against the Rams in week 15 and lost 40-14 to the Bills in week 16 where Rodgers had 112 passing yards and 2 interceptions. Rodgers had good games in week 14 against the terrible Jaguars and week 17 against the already eliminated Dolphins. Not impressed. I don't want to deal with headlines about Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood all season (which is an insult to Fred Rogers). I'm resigned to the fact that the Steelers will probably sign Rodgers at some point, but that probably won't happen until Rodgers can get the most possible press. At this point in his career, is he that much of an upgrade over Rudolph? Probably not. There has only been one NFL quarterback over 40 to have any success, and I don't think Rodgers is going to be the second. I'm not looking forward to rooting for Rodgers this year, and I don't think he's going to be very good. I also have a feeling I'm going to use this quote about Rodgers a lot this year.

Okay, enough of that. Let's let to my usual random draft notes. Here's are the 2025 Steelers' draft picks

Round 1: Derrick Harmon, Defensive Tackle, Oregon

Round 3: Kaleb Johnson, Running Back, Iowa

Round 4: Jack Sawyer, Edge, Ohio State

Round 5: Yahya Black, Defensive Tackle, Iowa

Round 6: Will Howard, Quarterback, Ohio State

Round 7: Carson Bruener, Linebacker, Washington

Round 7: Donte Kent, Cornerback, Central Michigan 

* Even though I still don't truly acknowledge Oregon and Washington as being in the Big 10, it's pretty remarkable that every selection until Kent is from that conference.

* I feel like Jack Sawyer's parents were really big fans of the TV show Lost

* I see a red door, and I want it painted Yahya Black!

* Fun fact: Carson Bruener is the son of long-time Steelers TE Mark Bruener. Another fun fact: Carson probably can't catch as well as Mark or he would have played on offense.

* How did Donte Kent go to a MAC school that wasn't Kent State? Missed opportunity.

* Lots of questions about the new Steelers QB. Will Howard have a chance at the starting QB job? When Will Howard sign a contract and start learning the playbook? Will Howard be the Steelers QB of the future? Will Howard like that his first name is the same as a question or is he used to it?

The Steelers also signed the following undrafted free agents:

Sebastian Castro, Safety, Iowa
J.J. Galbreath, Tight End, South Dakota
Ben Sauls, Kicker, Pittsburgh
Roc Taylor, Wide Receiver, Memphis
DJ Thomas-Jones, Fullback, South Alabama
Aiden Williams, Offensive Guard, Minnesota-Duluth
Ke'Shawn Williams, Wide Receiver, Indiana

* I definitely want DJ Thomas-Jones or if he goes by DJ TJ to provide music for a party! Maybe Thomas-Jones will team up with T.J. Watt and they can be DJs TJs!

* Roc is a great name for a wide receiver. Of course, I thought Dwight Stone was also a great name for a WR, and that had mixed results.

* Fun fact: The Steelers didn't draft or sign anyone from an SEC school. South Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth, and Central Michigan, but no Alabama, or LSU, or Georgia. 

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!

2022 Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Recap

Welcome to my annual-ish Pittsburgh Pirates draft recap. As always, this is for entertainment purposes only. While I have not analyzed anyone’s pitching mechanics or bat speed, I found some interesting facts that you won’t read or see anywhere else. Please note that I’m not including every draft pick, and the players mentioned below are in no particular order.

Want to feel old? The 2022 Major League Baseball draft may be the last one to feature players born in the 20^th century. 16 of the 21 Pirates’ draft picks were born in 2000 or later. The remaining 5 were born in 1999.

12^th Round: K.C. Hunt – Pitcher, Mississippi State University

There are a lot of upset people in Pittsburgh right now. The home of the Pittsburgh Steelers recently changed its name from Heinz Field to something like "Are You Sure" Stadium. Some people blame the Steelers for selling its name to the highest bidder including one with no apparent Pittsburgh connection. Some feel like Heinz should have continued its partnership with the team. In any event, people don’t like the new name. Enter K.C. Hunt. Hunt’s ketchup is likely the second largest in the United States and clearly inferior to Heinz. However, if K.C. Hunt becomes a star, think of the sponsorship opportunities and possibilities for him if that other ketchup company wants to make larger inroads in Pittsburgh and beyond!

(By the way, KC stands for Kyle Clemente as in the legendary Roberto Clemente. That’s very cool.)

7^th Round: J.P. Massey – Pitcher, University of Minnesota

While I wish that JP stands for John Parker (as in Dave Parker) or James Pena (as in Tony Pena), based on his 6.70 career ERA in college with 106 walks in 123.2 innings, I think his name might stand for John Polcovich!

18^th Round: Elijah Birdsong, Pitcher- University of the Pacific

If I asked you where the University of the Pacific is located, you would probably guess somewhere extremely close to the Pacific Ocean. You would probably think it’s like Pepperdine University in Malibu overlooking the ocean. Nope. The University of the Pacific is in Stockton, California, about 90 miles from the ocean. It’s not as ridiculous of a name as the University of South Florida in Tampa, but it’s close.

Competitive Balance-A (between the 1^st and 2^nd rounds): Thomas Harrington, Pitcher - Campbell University

Given the connection with one of the greatest Pittsburghers, I’m amazed that Harrington is the first player from Campbell ever drafted by the Pirates.

1^st Round: Termarr Johnson, SS - Mays High School (Georgia)

Sure, Johnson has been called the best hitter in the draft and a combination of Wade Boggs and Vladimir Guerrero Sr. but look at the first name. Termarr has the perfect number of “R”s in his name to be a Pirate! (Credit to @thesteelersnat for this joke.)

Fun fact: Johnson is the only player drafted by the Pirates under 6 feet tall.

8^th Round: Cy Nielson, Pitcher - Brigham Young University

With the name Cy, he just had to be a pitcher. Even if he turns into the greatest pitcher of all time, I think it’s safe to write that he’s going to have significantly less wins than Cy Young’s 511. When people talk about records that will never get broken, no one is getting more wins than Cy Young. Or more than Young’s 315 losses. Or more than Young’s 749 complete games. Or his 7356 innings pitched. Seriously, you can spend hours looking at Cy Young’s Baseball Reference page.

10^th Round: Tanner Tredaway, OF - University of Oklahoma

Big Enya fan.

11^th Round: Dominic Perachi, Pitcher - Salve Regina University

I love this pick. First, I always root for Division 3 athletes to do well. (Go Tim Locastro!) Perachi was the D3 pitcher of the year. While his competition doesn’t compare to a pitcher from the SEC, I’m glad the Pirates are giving him a shot. I’m rooting for him.

Plus, remember several draft picks ago when I wrote about the University of the Pacific? C’mon, that was like 2 minutes ago! It’s right up there! Anyway, Salve Regina could be named University of the Atlantic. It’s in Newport, Rhode Island, and the baseball field is about a 5-minute walk from The Breakers mansion built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, the grandfather of Gloria Vanderbilt and great-grandfather of the guy who does New Year’s Eve shows on CNN.

3^rd Round: Jack Brannigan, P/3B - University of Notre Dame

Yeah, yeah, two-way player. Ohtani. Maybe like Bubba Chandler who the Pirates drafted last year. Now that we got that out of the way, Brannigan’s last name reminded me of the late Bennigan’s restaurant chain. I miss Bennigan’s. Turns out that there are still 11 restaurants in the United States. Many are in Iowa, but the closest to Pittsburgh is in Steubenville, Ohio. I think Brannigan should do an appearance there. Amazingly, there are also more than a dozen restaurants internationally. I’m definitely going next time I’m in Bahrain or Cyprus.

Sure, I could have gone with a Jack Brannigan /Laura Branigan joke that I think he has Gloria’s number, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share this song and commercial.

Good luck to all of the players drafted by the Pirates. I hope that they have successful and productive baseball careers. 

Please click here to see more of my Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins draft recaps.

2022 Steelers Draft Recap: The Missed Picks

The 2022 National Football League draft took place last week, and the Steelers used their first two selections on QB Kenny Pickett from the University of Pittsburgh and WR George Pickens from the University of Georgia. With no disrespect to the remaining draft picks of Demarvin Leal, Calvin Austin III, Connor Heyward, Mark Robinson, and Chris Oladokun, the Steelers missed an opportunity for a truly historic draft. Here are just some of the people the Steelers could have "picked" instead.

Wilson Pickett - Rock and Roll Hall of Famer best known for his songs Land of 1,000 Dances, Mustang Sally, and In the Midnight Hour. No one will get the Steelers energized like Wilson Pickett! Seriously, go to 1:50 of this video and try not to nod your head or tap your feet. It's impossible.

By the way, Pickett's WikiPedia page might feature the best thing I've seen in a long time. Are there a lot of people who confuse Wilson Pickett and Wilson Phillips? I'll "Hold On" while you get back to me.

T. Boone Pickens - Billionaire oil magnate and hedge fund manager. While I'm sure the Rooney family is doing just fine financially, this selection would infuse some money into the organization. 

Jean-Luc Picard - Captain of the USS Enterprise. There was no better leader available in the 2022 draft!

Kellie Pickler - She's more than an American Idol contestant. Sure, she can sing, but Pickler can also write, act, host, and dance as evidenced by her Dancing With the Stars win. She's a 5-tool player!

Tobias Picker - Grammy-award winning composer and current Artistic Director of the Tulsa Opera. He's versatile and looks to have a long career!  

Andrew Pickens - American Revolution militia leader and member of the US House of Representative. If you want a fighter and someone in the trenches, Pickens is your guy. Unfortunately, he's undraftable because he was a slave owner 

Joe Picker - He's an Australian rugby player. Those guys are tough. He would have fit right into the Steelers culture and locker room.

Tommy Pickles - Rugrats character. He's very young (and a cartoon), but Tommy has a good motor and a high upside.

Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz - While the guys from "American Pickers" aren't ready to play in the NFL, they'll be huge additions to the scouting team. They will be such an asset to film study and finding things others might miss.

Ben Johns - He's the #1 pickleball player in the world and just won the US Open Pickleball championship. Proven winner!

Overall, the Steelers draft seems fine and could become great, but there were definitely some missed opportunities here.

T. Boone Pickens photo by Sue Ogrocki/AP. Joe Picker photo by Anthony Johnson in the "Sydney Morning Herald."

2021 Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Recap

Although the 2021 Major League Baseball draft occurred over a week ago, the Pirates selected too many players with great names, so I had to write about it. Oh, if you're new to this blog and just saw the post title, I should probably mention that I often write Pirates, Penguins, and Steelers draft recaps that focus on player names and other silly things. If you're looking for in-depth player analysis, I suggest looking elsewhere, but I promise that this will be more entertaining. 

Please note that I'm not going to write about every player drafted, and this isn't in any particular order.

Round 1: Henry Davis, C - University of Louisville

Sure, I could mention that Davis batted .370 with 15 home runs along with an on-base percentage of .482 and a slugging percentage of .663 during his junior season at Louisville, but what fun would that be? Instead, I'll share that my kids watched a few episodes of the Nickelodeon TV show Henry Danger recently. 

Whenever I see the show title, I think of the band Harvey Danger who created one of my favorite songs from the 90s, Flagpole Sitta. While I can easily hear Pirates announcer Greg Brown yelling "O Henry" every time Davis makes a great play or hits a home run, I hope that nickname Flagpole Sitta catches on for Davis. Just picture it. HOME RUN, FLAGPOLE SITTA!

(My apologies to Brendt Citta who was the Pirates' 38th round pick in the 2018 draft and who is currently in AA Altoona. The #1 overall pick gets this nickname.) 

Round 6: Mike Jarvis, SS - San Diego State University

First, Go Aztecs! Second, this is quite the unusual draft pick. Jarvis was a college basketball coach at George Washington University and St. John's University. He just seems a little (okay, A LOT) old to get drafted.

Round 9: Luke Brown, OF - University of Louisville

This is a country singer. The Pirates drafted a country singer. You can't convince me that Luke Brown isn't a country musician.

Round 15: Tyler Samaniego, P - University of South Alabama

Where in the world is Tyler Samaniego? Do it, Rockapella!

Round 4: Owen Kellington, P - U-32 HS (Vermont)

Round 13: Owen Sharts, P - University of Nevada

There have been plenty of jokes about the last name Sharts, but this is a high-class blog, so I will refrain from such sophomoric humor. I mean, Baby Sharts (doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo) is a potential nickname, but again, I want to focus on the first name Owen. Although baseball has been around for well over 100 years, according to Baseball Reference, there has only been one person with the first name Owen to ever play in the majors.* That's Owen Miller of the Cleveland Indians who made his debut in May. Owen Miller is currently batting .106 (5 for 47). Actually, besides retired long-time hockey player Owen Nolan and I guess NFL TE Owen Daniels, can you think of other successful professional athletes in America with the first name of Owen? (I'm not including Owen Hart.) There's not a good track record here, so these are highly questionable picks by the Pirates. Prove us wrong, Owens, prove us wrong!

Round 3: Bubba Chandler, P - North Oconee HS (Georgia)

Bubba has already committed to play baseball and football at Clemson, and honestly, someone named Bubba seems like the perfect fit as the Clemson quarterback. Looking at Baseball Reference again, there is not a great history of baseball players named Bubba. The most successful is probably Bubba Church who pitched from 1950-1955 for the Phillies, Reds, and Cubs. He went 36-37 with a 4.10 ERA and a career WAR of 7.8. Before you start bringing your thoughts about how great Bubba Trammell or Bubba Crosby were, they were not. Back to Bubba Church (which sounds like a really fun place for a Sunday service), he had 274 strikeouts in 713.1 innings. Most pitchers now have that many strikeouts in about 300-350 innings!

Round 12: Chazz Martinez, P - Orange Coast College

While there have been very few people named Owen or Bubba to ever reach the majors, Chazz Martinez could be a trailblazer. Yes, there's Chaz Roe, a mediocre relief pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays (and even as a mediocre pitcher, he's earned over $6 in his career), but there has never been a major leaguer named Chazz. Good luck, Chazz. We're all counting on you!

We interrupt this draft recap for a fun fact!

Of the 21 players selected by the Pirates, none of them primarily play 1st base or 2nd base. Some of the position players could certainly move there as they go through the minors. Typically, the best athletes play shortstop in little league and high school, but they may no longer be the best athletes once they join the Pirates.

Round 8: Sean Sullivan, P - California

Great pick! Anyone named Sean is a fantastic pick. Sean Sullivan is welcome to write a post here anytime. 

Round 14: Braylon Bishop, OF - Arkansas HS (Arkansas)

Check mate! (I'm here for all of your chess joke needs.)

Round 16: Daniel Corona, SS - The Baylor School (Tennessee)

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on the new name, image, likeness opportunities for college athletes, but if I'm Daniel Corona, I call the Corona beer people and request to be in a commercial with Snoop Dogg, Bad Bunny, or Tony Romo. I'm sure Corona is looking for an entry into the Wake Forest University community, and this is their chance. (If Corona says no, Corona should sign with the Pirates.)  

Please click here to see past draft recaps. 

* Update! This is incorrect. There have been about 10 major league players with the first name Owen (some with the given name). For example, Donie Bush, who was third in the 1914 MVP voting as a member of the Detroit Tigers, was born Owen Bush. Owen Wilson apparently went by Chief Wilson and had 36 triples for the 1912 Pirates. Thanks to John Dreker of Pirates Prospects for this information.

2021 Steelers Draft Recap

Welcome to my annual-ish Steelers draft recap. If you're new to my draft recaps, I want to share up front that I'm not going to pretend that I'm a draft expert. This is for entertainment purposes only and hopefully you enjoy it and possibly even smile or chuckle. An occasional guffaw is welcome! So with that, here is everything you need to know about the 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers draft class:

Round 1: Najee Harris - RB, University of Alabama

Fun fact! The Steelers had a running back with the last name of Harris who won 4 Super Bowls and went to the Hall of Fame. The Steelers also had a running back in the 2000s with the first name Najeh who had 725 rushing yards (a 4.3 yards per carry average!) and 9 total touchdowns in 32 career games. I think the Steelers and the fans expect production for Najee Harris closer to the first Harris rather than Najeh.

Round 2: Pat Freiermuth - TE, Penn State University

On Saturday morning, my 10 year old woke up and asked me who the Steelers drafted the previous evening.

Me - They picked a tight end from Penn State.

The Moose (excitedly and interrupting me) - They got Pat Freiermuth!

Clearly, he needs to do these draft recaps!  

I hope that Pat is ready to hear HEEEEEEEEEEEATH cheers whenever he catches a pass.

Round 3: Kendrick Green - OL, University of Illinois

Green joins an impressive list of University of Illinois players drafted by the Steelers.

DB Terry Hawthorne - 2013, 5th round

RB Rashard Mendenhall - 2008, 1st round

DB Bobby Dawson - 1988, 11th round

TE Cap Boso - 1986, 8th round

LB Octavus Morgan - 1974, 16th round

E (what position is E?) Gary Francis - 1957, 24th round

E Walt Kerulis - 1950, 23rd round

Not quite an all-pro line-up here. In my opinion, Mendenhall wasn't bad, but he is not remembered fondly by Steeler Nation thanks to his fumble in Super Bowl XLV. To my knowledge, none of these other guys ever played on the Steelers in a regular season game.  

We all agree that Cap Boso is an amazing name, right?

Round 4: Dan Moore, Jr. - DT, Texas A&M University

One of my favorite lines from the short-lived sitcom Happy Endings is this:

If Mary Tyler Moore married and divorced Steven Tyler and married and divorced Michael Moore, then got into a 3-way lesbian marriage with Demi Moore and Mandy Moore, would she go by the name Mary Tyler Moore Tyler Moore Moore Moore?

Let's just replace Michael Moore with Dan Moore.

Round 4: Buddy Johnson - LB, Texas A&M University

Hey Buddy!

Hi Buddy!

Round 5: Isaiahh Loudermilk - DE, University of Wisconsin

Pittsburghers (including me) get really upset when people omit the "h" in the city name. Isaiahh probably feels the same way, especially since his first name ends with two Hs. Isaiahh seems like a perfect fit for Pittsburgh!

Round 6: Quincy Roche, LB, University of Miami

Quincy Roche is trying to become the second player in Steelers history to have the first name starting with the letter Q after WR Quincy Morgan. In case you're wondering, the Pittsburgh Pirates have never had someone with the first name beginning with Q in the team's over 125 year history. Although he was a multi-sport star with excellent jumping abilities, Q*bert never got invited a Steelers training camp or a Pirates spring training in the 1980s.

Round 7: Tre Norwood - S, University of Oklahoma

I got nothing. Sorry Tre. I mean, I didn't forget about Tre.

Round 7: Pressley Harvin III - P, Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)

Besides it taking me a few minutes to realize that this is not former NFL wide receiver Percy Harvin, Pressley Harvin seems awesome. I love this pick.

The biggest revelation of the NFL draft wasn't any of these players. It's that Darryl McDaniels (DMC) is a Steelers fan! 

Go Steelers!

Please click here for other Pittsburgh draft recaps over the years.

Photo of Najee Harris by Caitlyn Epes/Pittsburgh Steelers

The Unauthorized 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Recap

The 2020 NFL draft took place Thursday through Saturday, and I'm here to once again provide in-depth coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers draft picks. And by in-depth, I mean that I provide some meaningless (to many people) facts about each player, usually based on their name.

Round 2: Pick 49 - Chase Claypool, WR Notre Dame

First, since the children's cartoon Paw Patrol still gets played in my home, it's always appropriate to share that Chase is on the case! In addition, a clay pool sounds like it would be an awful place to swim. Better than a concrete pool or a steel pool, but still not pleasant. Now that I got that out of the way, it's important to note that Chase Claypool could be the most successful athlete born in Canada in Pittsburgh sports history! Well, besides Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Jason Bay, Ron Francis, Rick Kehoe, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury, Jean Pronovost, Matt Murray, Pascal Dupuis, Paul Coffey, Chris Kunitz, and about 100 other Pittsburgh Penguins. Fine. Just be better than Justin Mourneau's stint as a Pirate and that would be a success!

Round 3: Pick 102 - Alex Highsmith, LB Charlotte

I was all set to make a Police Academy reference, but then I realized that the character's name was Hightower, not Highsmith. In that case, do you remember the former Houston Oilers RB Alonzo Highsmith? He was good. There doesn't seem to be any relation between the two Highsmiths, so I'll just include this picture from Police Academy.

Round 4: Pick 124 - Anthony McFarland Jr., RB Maryland

I spent way too long trying to figure out if Anthony McFarland Jr.'s is the son of Anthony "Booger" McFarland, who was a former NFL player and now an ESPN broadcaster on Monday Night Football. He is not. Can we still call him Junior Booger?

Round 4: Pick 135 - Kevin Dotson, G Louisiana

I see the name Dotson, and I think of the Datsun car company which makes me think of the line "He gon' make it to a Benz out of that Datsun" from Kanye West's Gold Digger.

Round 6: Pick 198 - Antoine Brooks Jr., S Maryland

I got nothing here. There was a Kevin Costner movie several years ago called Mr. Brooks, but I didn’t see it.

Round 7: Pick 232 - Carlos Davis, DT Nebraska

Clearly, Carlos’ nickname has to be Carlos Danger. It’s an awesome name that’s never been used before. Oh wait. Don’t use that nickname, Carlos!



Some of the undrafted rookie free agents

FB Spencer Nigh (Auburn)

The fullback is nigh! (While I’m guessing that Spencer for Hire here has heard the phrase the end is nigh thousands of times, has he ever heard the expression the fullback is nigh? Get Pittsburgh sportscaster Bob Pompeani on this immediately!)

DB Trajan Bandy (Miami (Fla.)

Trajan Bandy will try to become the first person named Trajan in NFL history. He also wore the turnover chain at Miami.

LB James Lockhart (Baylor)

A bold move to draft the former Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. Fortunately, defense is part of the title for someone who plays linebacker.

LB John Houston (Southern California)

You may know John Huston as an Oscar-winning filmmaker who has credits including The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and Prizzi's Honor. You may also know Huston as the father of Anjelica Huston. Let's hope that this John Houston directs the Steelers to a Super Bowl championship! (See what I did there!)

P Corliss Waitman (South Alabama/Mississippi State)

The second song on The Velvet Underground's debut album "The Velvet Underground & Nico” is "I'm Waiting for the Man." Of course, the album may be best known for this album cover by Andy Warhol. Andy Warhol was born in Pittsburgh, and the Andy Warhol Museum is located on the North Shore of Pittsburgh just slightly more than a half mile away from Heinz Field. Makes perfect sense for the Steelers to draft a player named Waitman who can probably punt the ball from a Heinz Field parking lot to the museum!



If you want to see previous Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins draft recaps from the last decade, please feel free to click here. See for yourself if some of my jokes and observations are still relevant or hold up today!

Photo of Trajan Bandy by Al Diaz of The Miami Herald.

2019 Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Recap

The 2019 Major League Baseball draft took place a few weeks ago, and I’m happy to present my annual(-ish) recap of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ selections. Please note that if you’re looking for serious, in-depth assessments of the players selected, you’ve come to the wrong place. This post is for entertainment purposes only. Actually, even places with serious, in-depth analysis of the Pirates’ picks should be for entertainment only, so maybe you have come to the right place. Welcome!

In the over 130-year history of the Pittsburgh Pirates, no player has ever had a first name beginning with the letter Q. There have been several players with the last name starting with Q including pitcher Chad Qualls, shortstop Rey Quinones, and who can forget second baseman Joe Quest from the team's 1884 season. In addition, every other letter has been accounted for in Pirates history including one player with the first name starting with U (U.L. Washington). This is why I applaud the team for taking Quinn Priester, a pitcher from Cary-Grove High School in Illinois with the #18 overall pick in the first round. Sure the Pirates could have taken University of Kentucky pitcher Zack Thompson, who was ranked #14 and taken with the next pick by the St. Louis Cardinals, but I understand that the team couldn’t pass up this opportunity to make history, especially with Quinn being ranked #19.

After taking outfielder Matt Gorski (OF from Indiana University) in the 2nd round and Matt Fraizer (OF from Arizona University) in the 3rd round, I feel like there was a directive not to select any more "Matt"s in the draft. An entire draft of Matts would have been very confusing.

Although I’m about 15 years late, I started watching the HBO series Deadwood. Sixth round pick pitcher Will Matthiessen from Stanford sounds like the perfect name for a Deadwood character. (By the way, I used a similar observation when the team selected Wyatt Mathisen in the 2nd round of the 2012 draft. Hopefully this Matthiessen with more letters in the last name works out better.) Meanwhile, sneaky pick by the Pirates here. Even though they were told not to draft anyone else named Matt, they picked someone with Matt in his last name. Very clever!

With their 5th round pick, the Pirates chose pitcher Grant Ford from the University of Nevada. Since his first name is the last name of the 18th President and he shares the last name with the 38th President, I feel like it’s only appropriate that his middle name should be Harding. (I don’t actually know his middle name, but we can dream right?) By the way, KevinInABQ deserves credit for the Harding reference.

As someone with young children, it’s hard not to see the team draft outfielder Chase Murray from Georgia Tech in the 13th round and think that he’s on the case.

In the 11th round, the Pirates picked Jase Bowen, an outfielder from Toledo Central Catholic HS. Jase can also be on the case.

I applaud the Pirates for selecting players with Pittsburgh ties. For example, Blake Sabol, an outfielder from USC and the team's 7th round pick, is Troy Polamalu’s cousin. The team also picked Pittsburgh sportscaster Guy Junker's son, Cameron Junker in the 10th round, former Pitt basketball player Chevy Troutman's nephew, Ryan Troutman in the 26th round, former Pirate Pedro Alvarez's cousin's roommate Andres Alvarez in the 22nd round, and Deion Walker from Hillgrove High School (named for Pitt and Steelers broadcaster Bill Hillgrove) in the 35th round.

In honor of this Saturday's Faith Night, the team also went with a biblical theme by selecting Eli (Wilson), Samson (Abernathy), Elijah (Dunham), Jasiah (Dixon; we’ll just say that this is close enough to Josiah), and of course, the famous prophet highlighted numerous times in the Bible, Dawson (McCarville).

The Pirates’ scouting department clearly watched a lot of late night television and were inspired by this State Farm commercial. How else can you explain the team drafting three players named Jake? 20th round pick Jake Snider, 32nd round pick Jake Wright, and 36th round pick Jake Sweeney?



In the 28th round, the team picked pitcher Bear Bellomy of Wright State University. What a cool name! Unfortunately, Tiger Thompson was taken earlier by the (you guessed it), Marlins.

Another cool name. catcher Ethan Goforth from Carson-Newman College. I can just see his manager telling him, “Ethan, goforth and call for a slider on this pitch.”


As always, I highly recommend checking out Pirates Prospects for actual in-depth information about the players mentioned above.

To see more of my draft recaps of the Pirates, Steelers, and Penguins over the years, please click here.

2018 Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Recap

I've written numerous Pittsburgh Pirates, Penguins, and Steelers draft recaps over the years. If this is new to you, please don't expect for in-depth analysis of the draft picks and possible career projections. Check out Pirates Prospects for that. Instead, enjoy a little light-hearted look at hopefully future Pittsburgh Pirates stars.

2nd round - Braxton Ashcraft, P, Robinson HS (TX)

I don't really have anything amusing or thought-provoking to write about Braxton Ashcroft. I just want to type Braxton Ashcraft over and over again. Braxton Ashcraft! Braxton Ashcraft! Braxton Ashcraft!

5th round - Grant Koch, C University of Arkansas
12th round - Zac Susi, C University of Connecticut
27th round - Ryan Haug, C University of Arizona
38th round - Brendt Citta, C University of Kansas

The trend seems to be to go faster and get guys who can shoot the 3, so this may be a calculated decision by the Pirates to zig where other teams zag. The Pirates drafted four college centers all from schools with impressive basketball histories. These four guys hope to match their predecessors like Wilt Chamberlain, Emeka Okafor, Cliff Robinson, Sean Rooks, and Channing Frye. We'll just forget about Hasheem Thabeet.

6th round - Michael Flynn, P University of Arizona

No one, I repeat no one made any references on Twitter to Flynn pleading the 5th, or chanting "Lock Her Up" or the fact that he might go to jail. Seems like a lot of people missed a golden opportunity.

8th Round - Zach Spears, P Miami University (Ohio)

Hit me baby one more time (is hopefully what opposing hitters are unable to do).



15th round - Jonah Davis, OF University of California

I just wanted to include him here as a personal preference. Carry on.

19th round - Will Kobos, P George Washington University

Don't blame me. I voted for Kang. (Not Jung Ho Kang, this Kang.)

31st round - Chase Lambert, SS Pepperdine University

A hard-hitting Lambert in Pittsburgh would be very, very popular.

36th round - Emanuel Andrews, OF Long Beach Poly High School (CA)

Want to feel old? Andrews was born on September 28, 2000. 2000?!?!?!

37th round - Lavoisier Fisher, OF North Gwinnett HS

Should we go with a Searching for Lavoisier Fisher reference or a pass the Lavoisier reference? Tough call.

38th round - Brendt Citta, C University of Kansas

Citta gets listed here twice for one very important reason. Little known fact that his family was the inspiration to one of my favorite 90s songs, Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger.



You can see all of the Pirates draft picks (though without my fun comments) on the Pittsburgh Pirates website.

2018 Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Recap

The 2018 NFL Draft occurred over the last few days, and I'm here to provide in-depth coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers draft picks. And by in-depth, I mean that I provide a meaningful (or meaningless) tidbit about each player, usually based on their name.

Terrell Edmunds, Safety, Virginia Tech

What a name. Think about it. Terrell Edmunds will now be only 4th player in NFL history* named Terrell after Terrell Davis, Terrell Owens, and Terrell Suggs. All three of these Terrells are in the NFL Hall of Famer or will be one day. Actually, based on this history, Edmunds should have been the #1 overall draft pick. Sorry Cleveland Browns fans!

James Washington, WR, Oklahoma State

Nate Washington had an underrated career as a Steelers wide receiver. If James Washington matches Nate Washington's stats as a member of the Steelers, well, that would be a disappointment.

Mason Rudolph, QB, Oklahoma State

In cold December games in Pittsburgh, it's quite possible that Rudolph will get a red nose.

Chukwuma Okorafor, OL, Western Michigan

The name Chukwuma Okorafor reminds me of Chukky Okobi, the Steelers back-up center in the late 2000s. Okobi was also a rapper with his songs appearing on his MySpace page. I really wish his MySpace page was still around. It was awesome!

Marcus Allen, S, Penn State

Incredible player, but he's 58 now and making the switch from running back to safety could be tough. I guess he'll bring some veteran leadership as a rookie.

Jaylen Samuels, RB, NC State

Samuels had a now deleted tweet from 2011 where he wrote that the Steelers suck. Hey, we all write dumb tweets when we're young. I mean, I'm sure I wrote a tweet last week that I wish I could take back.

Joshua Frazier, DT Alabama

It's extremely important that Frazier stays on his feet and helps to stop the run since you don't want him to go down.




* This may not be true, but I'm going to say it is since it sounds better for this post. Seems like Terrelle Pryor should have changed the spelling of his name to Terrell.


You can view more of my amazing draft recaps of the Steelers, Pirates, and Penguins here.