Pittsburgh Pirates 2020 Draft: Day 2 Preview, College Focus

The Pittsburgh Pirates new Front Office is off to a strong start in the 2020 Draft.  What could day two bring the organization?

When the Pittsburgh Pirates hired a new Front Office in the offseason, it made the 2020 Draft a more interesting one for the organization.  Under the previous regime, fans were fed up with their draft process and their misses with top picks.  When the Pittsburgh Pirates hired Ben Cherington, the hope was that he would improve the draft process.  After all, the draft is what he and Assistant GM Steve Sanders have built their careers on.

There was a lot of intrigue heading into the 2020 draft.  The Bucs had the seventh and 31st overall picks last night.  They picked up one of the best pure hitters in Nick Gonzales and a power, college pitcher in Carmen Mlodzinski.  This is exactly what we expected them to do, stick to college, go Gonzales at number seven if Emerson Hancock was gone (he went sixth to Seattle), and get a college pitcher at number 31.  It was a good first night and the organization received good reviews for their first two picks.

What can we expect tonight during the final four rounds?  First and foremost the team will be on the board again quickly.  They have the seventh pick of the night at number 44 overall, then they will pick at 79, 108, and 138.

All things considered, the team should have an opportunity to continue to add more future top 100 talent with their picks.  However, I expect that talent to be mostly be from the college ranks.  While the Bucs have the fifth highest draft bonus allotment, the team’s first two picks will likely be signed for close to their assigned values.  As of now there is not projected to be a whole lot of room for them to go overslot.

If the team does take a prep player, it will most likely be in the second or third round.  Those rounds are protected picks, so if the team fails to sign their draftee then they will get compensated with a pick next year.  Still, there is a risk in that.  If the team does not sign a specific round then they also lose that money against their overall draft pool.  If I were to guess, Cherington will continue to focus on upside college players who are the best available and will be close to slot value.

Who are some of the top prospects left on the board?  Right off the bat is Dillon Dingler, a catcher out of Ohio State.  Many thought he would have gone around picks 25-35, instead he is still available.  In fact, in my first mock draft, I had him projected at number 44, so it looks like that could be a possibility.  He would fill the Pittsburgh Pirates biggest hole in their farm system.

Other college bats to watch are Miami shortstop Freddy Zamora, LSU outfielder Daniel Cabrera, and Arkansas infielder Casey Martin.  All three of these hitters could have gone in the competitive balance round last night based on their rankings in the 30s on FanGraphs.  Three high school bats to watch are outfielder Petey Halpin, catcher Kevin Parada, and third baseman Drew Bowser.

In terms of arms, the best college pitchers left are Georgia right-hander Cole Wilcox and Texas Tech righty Clayton Beeter.  There is also JT Ginn, who was a potential top 10 pick before undergoing Tommy-John surgery this spring.  Prep wise there is Jarred Kelley, Tanner Witt, and Carson Montgomery.  All these players are ranked in the range of 19-45 on FanGraphs, so there is still plenty of value to be had.