Pittsburgh Pirates: Best Left For Day Two of the Draft

The Pittsburgh Pirates will kick off day two of the draft with the #37th pick. So who are some of the best left after day one?

The first day of the MLB amauture draft was yesterday on Sunday the 11th. Only the first 36th picks were taken on the first day. The Pittsburgh Pirates kicked things off with a surprising pick of Louisville catcher Henry Davis with the first overall selection. The Bucs were far from the only team to take a surprising pick.

Today, the Pittsburgh Pirates will kick things off once again starting in the second round. There’s still a ton of talented players left, so let’s take a look at a few that we could see the Bucs take with their next few picks.

Jaden Hill is potentially the pick for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hill, who went into the 2021 college season up there with Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker as one of the best pitchers that would be available during the draft, saw his stock fall after a Tommy John surgery.

The Louisiana State product only pitched 51.1 innings throughout his entire time at LSU. He had a 4.21 ERA, but a solid 3.20 FIP, and 1.091 WHIP. Hill put up a 24.9% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate, but his biggest strength was preventing the home run, allowing just 3 long balls.

The hulking 6’4, 235 pound right-hander has a four pitch mix. All of which are considered above average offerings. His four-seam fastball averages out in the upper-90’s and is seen as a 70-grade offering by FanGraphs. Both his slider and change-up are seen as 60-grade offerings by FanGraphs while his curveball is a 50-grade pitch.

Another arm to keep an eye on is high school left-hander Gage Jump. Jump is only 5’11, 175 pounds. However, he still looked like a potential early draft pick despite his size. Jump has a four-seam fastball that only sits in the lower-90 MPH range, but is deceptive and gets batters. Both his slider and curveball are distinct enough to be separate, plus offerings. He’ll also throw a change-up, but he’ll need to work on it.

One last name worth taking an in-depth look at is Will Taylor. The shortstop/outfielder was ranked as a top 30 draft prospect by MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs. Taylor is a highly athletic player, having a 70-speed grade by MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs. He’s also considered an average or better fielder. Though his bat is still far from developed. He makes consistent contact and has some hidden strength.

Taylor was a three-sport athlete, so he didn’t fully devote his time to baseball. This is possibly why he has fallen so far as teams haven’t gotten a full look at Taylor. However, he still has ways to go before he makes the big leagues. If he fully devotes his time into baseball, you’re looking at one of the more underrated players in the draft.

There are plenty of other players that are worth mentioning. High schoolers James Triantos, Tyler Whittaker, and two-way prospect Bubba Chandler could be in the Pirates’ sights. College players Adrian Del Castillo, Ethan Wilson, and Jud Fabien are also some names worth bringing up.