Pittsburgh Pirates Draft: Three College Pitchers to Watch

LHP Parker Messick

Parker Messick is a pitcher who could go to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second round. Currently, he’s the 48th ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline 44th ranked by FanGraphs. The Florida State southpaw brings a whole lot of energy to the mound, as well as a solid pitch mix that gives him a starter’s outlook.

Messick was great in 2021. He worked 90 innings while posting a 3.10 ERA and 1.156 WHIP. He only allowed six home runs for a 0.6 HR/9. Messick is also a strikeout machine. Including the 5.2 innings he has pitched this year and 11.2 innings he tossed in 2020 Messick had a strikeout rate of 34.4%. This has also come with a 6% walk rate, showing he’s not just a big strikeout, big walk guy either.

He has a four-pitch mix, all of which he has a feel for. Messick isn’t a flamethrower as he only averages around 90-93 MPH and topping out at 95. His most used breaking pitch is a slider which plays to an above-average level. He also has a curveball, though it can get a bit loopier than you’d like to see. His off-speed offering, a changeup, might be his second-best pitch. He gets many of his swings-and-misses on it, and many softly hit grounders. His change sits in the low-80’s and is a quality offering.

Although Messick doesn’t throw very hard, his low arm slot and quick arm speed give him some deception on the mound. However, there is some downside to Messick. His delivery has a fair amount of moving parts. He’s also already thrown over 100 college innings and should continue to pitch more this year. His delivery also means that he’ll probably not add a significant amount of velocity anytime soon.

However, those are relatively minor risks for a lefty with plus control and good deception. Messick might be a slight under-slot pick, but you have to keep in mind that someone like Termarr Johnson or Drew Jones could fall to the Pittsburgh Pirates at no. 4. It would be far from the first time a consensus #1 pick fell past the top 3 teams. Plus, there’s more than enough talent within Messick to justify taking him early in the second round. He has a four-pitch mix, plus command, and oozes confidence on the mound.

LHP Bryce Hubbart

Florida State has two very good lefties in their rotation. Along with Parker Messick, Florida State will also have lefty Bryce Hubbart. Hubbart is another pitcher that could end up in the second round. Although he has a higher ceiling than Messick, he brings a bit more risk to the table.

Hubbart didn’t have the best of numbers in 2021. In 71 innings, the southpaw did have a significant 30.7% K-rate and 1.169 WHIP, but a so-so 3.80 ERA, 1.1 HR/9, and 9.5% walk rate. Although his 2021 numbers at college didn’t look great, he showed significant improvement at the Cape Cod League. There, he decreased his walk rate to 6.8%, upped his K-rate to 38.5%, and allowed just a single long ball in 31 innings of work. You couldn’t have asked for a better 2022 debut: 5 scoreless innings, 13 K’s, no walks, two hits. He was flat-out dominating batters in his first showing of the college season.

Hubbart throws in the low-90’s, but can crank it up to the upper-90’s when he needs to. Even when he’s working in the 90-93 MPH range, he has a high-quality pitch because of its high-spin rate. His curveball is another plus offering with sharp break. According to Pipeline, the southpaw added a slider that he has improved to make it a reliable third offering. Although it’s his least used pitch, his change-up is an offering he has a feel for and is usable for Hubbart.

The main issue everyone had with Hubbart was his command. But he showed leaps and bounds of improvement at the Cape Cod League. Now, the question is if he can keep showing that throughout this college season.

RHP Gabriel Hughes

Gabriel Hughes is a product of Gonzaga. The right-hander has a large, 6’4, 220-pound build and projects to go later in the second round. However, a good 2022 season from the right-hander could boost his value up to an early second-round selection.

Hughes has three quality offerings. His four-seam fastball regularly sits in the mid-to-upper-90’s. However, it’s also an easy 94-97. It’s a low-effort, fast arm-speed movement that is similar to LA Dodgers’ ace Walker Buehler. Some experts see him hitting 100 MPH in the future. His slider comes in the upper-90’s with wipeout action and he’s flashed a plus change-up as well.

The right-hander had solid numbers at Gonzaga in 2021. He pitched 61.1 innings, posting a quality 3.23 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, .59 HR/9, and 25.5% strikeout rate. The big downside was an 11.4% walk rate. Hughes’s walk rate doesn’t accurately reflect his ability to command his offerings as he’s been praised for the ability to fill the zone and locate his slider.

Given Hughes’ ability, he might even rise above the early second round and into the early first round. However given that he currently sits as a late 2nd rounder, it’s still very possible he is an arm the Pirates target if he’s still available.