Pittsburgh Pirates Can Add a Future Star with 7th Overall Pick

The Pittsburgh Pirates are coming off one of their worst seasons this decade. However, with a poor season comes a higher draft pick.

Being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan this year was tough. The team had one of the worst second half’s in franchise history, lost multiple key contributors, and had more news stories than ever before.  To top it off, the team has let go of long time manager Clint hurdle and will be searching for a new manager this offseason.  To say the least, the Pittsburgh Pirates organization is almost, if not, in complete disarray.

However, there is one positive to the team having a poor record.  While it’s a slight consolation, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have the seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft, their highest pick they have had since drafting first overall in 2011.  The next highest came in 2012 when the team had the eighth overall pick. So, to say the least, the team looks like it’s closer to a rebuild than they do a playoff contender based off of their more recent drafts being more middle of the pack, and in some cases in the bottom 10.

This has been part of the issue with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.  While winning should always be the main priority, it also costs draft stock.  Now that the Bucs have a top 10 pick, it very well could add a future franchise player to their organization. Who are some of the players that are expected to be available to the Pittsburgh Pirates in next year’s draft?

The Pittsburgh Pirates used their first-round pick on a prep pitcher last season and added a bunch of outfielders with their other top picks.  Reports were that the team wanted to acquire a shortstop in last year’s draft, but did not get the chance at the top end of their picks.  So the team could very well look at college shortstop Casey Martin of the University of Arkansas.  Martin has the flashy tools that shortstops have nowadays with power and speed, hitting 15 home runs and stealing 10 bases.  He is projected to stick at short.

Martin very well could be off the board when it’s the Pittsburgh Pirates time to draft.  There is no slamdunk shortstop prospect projected in the top five this year like in the previous years, but if a team is looking at shortstop as a big need (the Mariners could be) then he could go before seven.

If Martin is not on the board at number seven, then it is very likely that the team will likely go in a different direction.  This draft seems to be college pitching and outfield heavy.  However, with the draft so far away, many high school players will likely rise up on boards along with some college players.