Pittsburgh Pirate Draft: A Look at Potential Pick Garret Crochet

There is no clear answer for when the draft will take place this year.  Still, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have the seventh overall pick.  Who could they draft with that pick?

Right now, the Major League Baseball Draft is in jeopardy of not occurring.  Apparently, the MLB is concerned over the financial implications of the draft as well as service time for the players.  Still, the draft will only be temporarily suspended and it will eventually happen.  When it does happen, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have the seventh overall pick, their highest since picking first overall in 2011.

One position that was simply ignored during the Neal Huntington era was left-handed starting pitching.  The only left-handed pitching prospect he ever signed inside the top top rounds was Blake Taylor, who he quickly traded to the Mets.  Huntington also drafted Nick Lodolo number 41 overall but he ended up opting to go to college and was drafted seventh overall in 2019.

With that being said, the Pittsburgh Pirates lack any real quality left-handed starting pitching prospects.  This could be an area that Ben Cherington and Assistant General Manager Steve Sanders target in this year’s draft.  One pitching prospect who could be available to them at pick number seven is Garret Crochet.  Crochet ranks as the number 10 ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline.  Here is a part of from their scouting report on Crochet:

"After working with a 91-95 mph fastball and topping out at 97 during the spring, Crochet dealt at 96-100 for most of the fall, and his heater already played better than its velocity because it has high spin rates. His 82-85 mph slider features above-average spin rates as well and his long arms create difficult angle on his breaking ball. He flashes a well above-average changeup at times, throwing it around 90 mph with deceptive arm speed."

There are a couple of things about taking Crochet at number seven even though he is ranked at number 10.  First off, he would fill a big void in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system.  Second, he has top of the rotation stuff; his fastball sits in the upper 90s and he potentially has two plus offerings. The last reason would be that the team could potentially save money against their bonus pool.  The team also has the number 31 overall pick, saving a bit of money at the top of the draft could pay off for them with such a high second pick, similar to what the Astros did when drafting Carlos Correa and Lance McCullers.

If Ben Cherington and company want to improve the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system, then drafting a starting pitcher would be a big addition to the organization.  However, getting a high upside left-handed starter would be even better.  Plus, if the team can save some money and invest in another high upside prospect at number 31, then it would be perfect.