Pittsburgh Pirates: Looking at a Possible Second Round Pick

With the draft a little over two months away, the Pittsburgh Pirates may have an interesting decision to make at pick number 37

With more and more uncertainty coming out about whether or not the Pittsburgh Pirates take one of the aces from the Vanderbilt duo, or do they go the high school route with Jordan Lawler, there is a chance the Pirates could go Lawler with the first pick and still end up with a top five arm in this years draft with pick 37. This pitcher would be Jaden Hill.

Hill, a left-handed pitcher out of LSU, was projected to be one of the top pitching prospects in this upcoming draft, and possibly even challenging the Vandy boys for top overall prospect. However, in April, Hill was matched up against Vanderbilt and was only able to pitch 1.1 innings before disaster struck.

Hill found out he had torn his UCL and would need Tommy John surgery. This was a brutal blow for him, especially with his past medical history. This UCL tear is not his first arm injury by any means. Back in Hills freshman year at LSU, his season has cut short when he had elbow soreness and got a plate and screws removed from his collarbone.

With all of these injuries and COVID cutting the 2020 college season short, Hill has only been able to pitch 51 innings in his career at LSU. In these 51 innings, Hill carries a 3-3 record with a 4.21 ERA. His WHIP was one of his more impressive areas sitting at 1.09.

These stats led him  to be talked about as a top 10 pick in this years draft, but Tommy John will certainly lead to a fall in the draft. Last year JT Ginn was in a similar boat. He was a projected top 15 pick, but after having Tommy John he fell to the Mets at 57 overall in the second round.

If history repeats itself and Hill falls to the second round the Pittsburgh Pirates will have an interesting decision on whether or not to take a risk in drafting Hill, especially if they pass and Rocker and Leiter with the first overall pick.