Players You Forgot The Pittsburgh Pirates Drafted Part 5

First Baseman John Kruk

John Kruk was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in a very interesting fashion. He was selected by the Pirates in the third-round of the January Draft Regular-Phase in 1981, but did not sign. He was then selected again months later in the normal June amature draft, again in the third-round, but by the San Diego Padres this time around.

Kruk made his way through the Padres minor league system as an outfielder and first baseman, but someone who could get on base at an insane rate. Kruk’s lowest on base percentage from 1981 to 1985 was .400. This carried over to the major leagues where in his rookie campaign, he hit .309/.403/.424 with only 4 home runs in 327 plate appearances, but a 138 wRC+ and 13.8% walk rate.

Kruk continued to be an on base machine, posting a .406 OBP in his sophomore season while seeing his power take an uptick. He crushed 20 home runs with a .488 slugging percentage while posting a .313 batting average. Kruk continued to be a very productive batter with the Padres up until he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1989.

Philly was where Kruk made a name for himself. In 3001 plate appearances, Kruk hit for a fantastic .309/.400/.461 line with 62 home runs and 138 wRC+. Kruk continued his ability to draw walks at an insane rate, sitting with a 13.6% walk rate. He combined this with a strikeout rate of just 14.5%. He was silently one of the top 20 batters in baseball during this stretch, ranking 16th in wRC+, 20th in OPS and 21st in wOBA (.379).

Notably, Kruk made three straight All-Star Games from 1991 to 1993 and received MVP votes in each of those seasons. Kruk ended his career with the Chicago White Sox in 1995, but his crusade on drawing walks didn’t even come close to slowing down as he drew 26 base on balls in 188 plate appearances.