Pittsburgh Pirates: Projecting the Team’s First Four Picks

Pick Number 57: Mathew Thompson, Right-Handed Pitcher

The Pittsburgh Pirates will likely go back to the pitching ranks with their second-round pick at number 57 overall.  Thompson is a projectable righty who could make a lot of sense for the Bucs.  He is 6’2” and has plenty of room to fill out, currently weighing just 185 pounds.  His fastball already reaches as high at 96 and is considered to be one of the best pure arms in the draft class.  He also is throwing a changeup that could be a plus pitch for him down the road.

Thompson, who currently pitches at Cypress Ranch High School in Texas, is committed to Texas A&M.  He is ranked at number 69 on MLB Pipeline’s big board.  While this would be somewhat of an overdraft, the Bucs did the same thing in 2017 when they drafted a lesser ranked Calvin Mitchell in the second round.  Drafting Thompson here likely will not save the team money, but should at least keep them at the slot amount.

Pick Number 72: Kyle Stowers, Outfielder

At one time, the outfield was a position that the Pittsburgh Pirates were loaded all throughout the farm system.  However, that is not the case anymore.  The team has seen many of their prospects graduate to the majors.  The only notable outfield prospects below Triple-A are Travis Swaggerty and Calvin Mitchell.

The team adds another projectable outfield bat in the way of Kyle Stowers.  Stowers is a college junior playing for west coast power Stanford.  What stands out about Stowers is he is an athletic lefty who has projectable plus power.  He would project very well in PNC Park down the road.  Stowers has slugged .506 with 14 doubles and seven home runs in 45 games.

While that is not a ton of home runs, Stowers is still filling out into his 6’3” frame.  He currently only weighs 195 pounds, so he likely will add more muscle as he gets older.  On defense, Stowers will likely play in left field.  He has an average arm but runs pretty well (10 steals this year) and he could handle PNC spacious left field.  Stowers ranks at number 78 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list.  He is a college junior which would allow the Bucs could save money to use elsewhere in the draft.