Pittsburgh Pirates Draft: Examining the Potential of Brooks Lee at No. 4

Many mock drafts have the Pittsburgh Pirates taking Brooks Lee with the fourth overal selection, but is that the right choice for the Bucs?

There are a handful of mock drafts that currently have the Pittsburgh Pirates drafting shortstop Brooks Lee with the fourth overall selection in the draft. MLB Pipeline’s most recent mock draft has the Pirates picking Lee, and the Athletic’s Keith Law has the Pirates picking Lee (subscription required).

But is he the right pick for the Pittsburgh Pirates?

There’s no doubt that Lee is one of the best hitters in this year’s draft. He’s been a machine at the plate this college season. The Cal Poly infielder has hit .364/.471/.651 line through 257 trips to the plate. Lee has been nothing short of outstanding when it comes to drawing walks and avoiding strikeouts. He has 43 walks and nearly half the amount of strikeouts, with 23 strikeouts. That’s a walk rate of 16.7% and a strikeout rate of 8.9%. Plus, he already has 22 doubles and a dozen homers. He nearly has as many extra-base hits as singles with 35 extra base hits and 41 singles. The outstanding production at the plate culminates in an impressive.476 wOBA and OPS of 1.122.

MLB Pipeline lauds his hitting ability, giving him a 65-grade while also projecting him as a plus power hitter. Another plus is that he’s a switch hitter. But as many have pointed out, he’ll probably have to move off of shortstop long term. He’s a solid fielder with a strong enough arm to play the middle infield position but lacks the quickness and range you like to see from shortstops.

That means he’ll likely move to a different position long-term. Now the first thing everyone is going to point to is that shortstop and third base for the Pirates already have an abundance of players. Ke’Bryan Hayes signed the biggest deal in franchise history to keep him under control for the next eight years. Two of the best Pirate prospects are shortstops, that being Oneil Cruz and Liover Peguero, along with a boatload of other SS/2B options in the system.

Lee is a solid pick at no. 4 if for two things. The first is if any of the top high school prospects are available. This year’s draft is very high school-heavy. Druw Jones is generally considered the best prospect in the draft. Infielder Termarr Johnson is a consensus top-three ranked draft prospect. Elijah Green is another top high school prospect who could go within the first five selections. If he falls to him, the Pittsburgh Pirates would almost be forced to select Jones at #4. It’s not super likely, but it has happened before. Last year, the Pirates, Texas Rangers, and Detroit Tigers all passed on Marcelo Mayer, the consensus best overall prospect in last year’s draft.

The Pirates may also decide to go under slot. The no. 4 overall pick is worth $7,002,100. If the Pirates were to draft Lee, it would likely cost around that much to sign him. Last year, the Pirates went under slot, selecting catcher Henry Davis first overall. That worked out very well for them as they could sign Bubba Chandler, Anthony Solometo, Lonnie White Jr., Owen Kellington, and Braylon Bishop. The Pirates could go with a similar strategy this year.

Assuming he’s available, Jacob Berry is the likeliest under slot pick for the Pirates. He’s up there with Lee as the best hitters in the draft but lacks the defensive prowess, which is one of the reasons he’d likely be an under-slot pick. Berry is currently who I have the Pirates taking.

There’s no doubt the Pittsburgh Pirates will do their due diligence on Lee. Personally, I’d like to see the Pirates go with Berry and go with a similar strategy they went with last season, but that’s just me. Obviously, if Jones, Johnson, or Green are available, they should give higher consideration to any of them over Lee. If the Pirates decide to go with a slot value pick and any of the top high school prospects aren’t available, then Lee is the guy. He hits for contact, hits for power, gets on base, and avoids strikeouts. Shortstop might not be his long-term home, but he is arguably the best college player in this year’s draft.