Pittsburgh Pirates: Baseball America New Top 300 Projections

The Major League Baseball Draft looks like it will still occur in some capacity this summer. Baseball America recently posted their updated top 300 Prospect list.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the seventh and 31st overall picks in this year’s Major League Baseball Draft.  Now the question is, when will the team get to use those picks?  Right now it is looking like there will be some sort of shortened draft with it potentially occurring in July.  At one point Major League Baseball talked about canceling the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft altogether.  However, they faced a lot of backlash on that which could be swaying them to try to at least have an abbreviated version.

If, or when, the draft does occur, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have the seventh pick in the first round then the 31st overall pick as part of the Competitive Balance round.  This is going to give Ben Cherington a real chance to add some significant, impact talent.  These are the highest two picks the organization has had since 2012 when they drafted ninth and 14th.

Who could the Pittsburgh Pirates target with those two picks?  Of course, it is really hard to say, but they will have plenty of options.  The good news is that Baseball America has recently put out their Top 300 MLB Draft Prospect list for 2020.  Who are the players ranked at those two spots on their rankings?

The team at Baseball America has ranked pitchers at both number seven and number 31.  At number seven they have left-handed starting pitcher Reid Detmers.  He is the Louisville Cardinals ace and was off to a great start to the season pitching to a 1.23 ERA in his first four starts of the year while racking up 48 strikeouts in 22 innings.  He is a projectable left-hander standing at 6’2” with a fastball that sits in the mid-90s.

The 31st ranked player on Baseball America is right-handed starting pitcher Carson Montgomery.  Montgomery is a prep pitcher out of Florida who stands at 6’2” and weighs around 200 pounds.  Here is part of the scouting report on Montgomery from Baseball America:

“Montgomery has an exciting two-pitch mix that includes a fastball that’s been up to 96 mph and one of the better prep sliders in the class. The slider sits in the 80-85 mph range and features impressive, two-plane break that has the look of a real swing-and-miss pitch. While he’s also shown a firm, upper-80s changeup, that pitch is currently behind his fastball-slider combination.”

Overall Montgomery sounds like the prototypical high school pitcher.  He has a big frame with a projectable power fastball and a good breaking pitch.  Of course, like most prep pitchers, his changeup is behind the rest of his arsenal.  He has a three-pitch mix and a solid foundation to build off of including his power fastball.

Montgomery is also rather athletic, playing outfield in high school as well.  The league has gone toward more athletic type pitchers.  As of now, he is committed to Florida State, and being that he lives in Florida, it will likely make him tougher to sign.  Furthermore, he is trending downward on Baseball America’s big board which suggests he could try to improve his stock by going to school.