Pittsburgh Pirates: Ranking Neal Huntington’s First-Round Draft Picks Part One

Number 10 – First Baseman/Third Baseman Will Craig

With the 22nd overall pick in the 2016 draft the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Wake Forest infielder Will Craig. When he was drafted, Craig was viewed as an advanced college bat that could climb through the Pirate farm system in a hurry. However, Craig is still struggling to find his footing offensively in the minor leagues.

Craig started his professional career at third base and has since moved to first base. His defense is not a question as he has taken home a minor league gold glove award at first. Offensively, however, there are still plenty of questions about Craig.

With Low-A in 2016 he slashed .280/.412/.362 with a 15.0% walk rate, 13.5% strikeout rate, .083 isolated power, and a 142 wRC+. With High-A in 2017, his ISO rose to .100 and his slugging rose to .371. However, both of those numbers are still well below average. Additionally, his walk rate dropped to a still strong 11.4%, while his strikeout rate jumped to 19.6%. He still got on base at a strong .373 clip, and his wRC+ was still 23 points better than average at 123.

Through the first two years of his professional career Craig was doing a great job of getting on base, but had yet to flash power. In 2018, that power flashed when he slugged .448 with a .200 ISO, 20 home runs, and a 11.1% extra base hit rate at Double-A. It was not all good though, as his walk rate dropped to a career low 7.7% and his strikeout rate jumped to 23.3%.

Craig’s success at Double-A led to him reaching the Triple-A level in 2019. Spending the entire season at Triple-A, Craig’s walk rate continued to struggle at just 7.9% and his strikeout rate spiked to a career high, and concerning, 26.3%. Additionally, his power dipped again. His slugging percentage dropped to .435, ISO to .186, and extra base hit rate to 9.3%, despite hitting a career high 23 home runs.

If there is a 2020 season, Craig may find himself on the Pirates’ taxi squad to be eligible to be pulled up to the active roster if needed. Right now Craig does not look like he will pan out as a starter level player at the MLB level, and potentially losing the 2020 season will do Craig no favors.