Pittsburgh Pirates Draft: Another Catcher at Pick #4?

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the 4th overall pick in the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft. Could they look at another hitter?

If you have read my Draft articles on the Pittsburgh Pirates over the last two years then one knows that I have a very specific belief on how this Front Office will operate.  Ben Cherington and staff focus on advanced college bats with their top picks.  Hitters are deemed less risky than pitchers especially considering long-term health.  Furthermore, more hitters are likely to make it to the big leagues at some point than pitchers.

This is why the Pittsburgh Pirates will likely focus on getting the best bat with the 4th overall selection.  In my first mock that I put out a few weeks ago, I had the Bucs drafting Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee.  Lee checks a lot of the boxes that the Front Office looks for in a hitter.  He is advanced with pop and performed very well in last year’s Cape Cod League.

Could the team look to select another catcher with their top-pick?  First things first, if there is a Draft that no team should Draft “needs” in it is the Baseball Draft.  There are a lot of questions about the future of the game, especially from behind home plate.  Also, if Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada is the best player for the team to take a #4 then they should.  It is all about getting the best future impact players.

Parada has been a big hitter in the ACC. The Georgia Tech product has hit .356/.451/.728, leading to an OPS approaching 1.200. Parada is hitting for a ton of power. He has 26 home runs on the year and a .372 isolated slugging percentage. He hasn’t been an all-or-nothing, three-true-outcomes kind of hitter either. The backstop has 28 walks and just 27 K’s through 283 plate appearances.

Although he plays a position that demands defense, Parada is a hitter, first and foremost. MLB Pipeline gives him 60 grades for his hit and power tool. His overall defense is quite solid. He has a real chance of sticking behind the plate long-term. However, his arm is on the weaker side. although he’s accurate.

Parada likely is not a catcher long-term.  He is a bat-first player and with so many other catching prospects now in the system the Pittsburgh Pirates could allow him to focus on his bat.  Teams do this all the time, we saw the Cubs do it with Kyle Schwarber. So do not rule out Parada just because he is a catcher.