Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Five 2021 Draft Picks Starting Strong

Infielder Jackson Glenn

Because the Pirates went noticeably over slot with four of their first five draft picks, they needed to go under slot at some point. One of those very under slot picks was Jackson Glenn. Glenn was signed for just $12,500, but his college numbers wouldn’t have told you that.

Glenn had a .967 OPS, 30 home runs, and 40 doubles throughout his time at Dallas Baptist University. Once the Pirates drafted him, he would continue being a doubles machine with 14 two-baggers in his 36 hits and 130 plate appearances. Another plus is his 23 walks and 22 K’s. Despite having zero round-trippers, he still put up a 161 wRC+ in his first taste of playing time.

The 2022 campaign hasn’t been so great for Glenn so far. He has just 14 hits in his first 58 plate appearances. He finally hit his first regular-season home run (he hit one in last year’s minor league postseason) but has just five doubles and 12 strikeouts.

Glenn has split his time between second base and third base. The infielder played at least one game at every infield position during his time at college and will likely end up as a utility man in the future. If Glenn can show any semblance of making contact the way he did in college and draw walks as he did in 2021, he could be a pretty underrated prospect.