Rum Bunter Staff Pittsburgh Pirates Mock Draft: Noah Wright

The Pittsburgh Pirates have the fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft, so what could a mock draft look like for their upcoming draft.

The MLB draft is just around the corner now. The Pittsburgh Pirates have the no. 4 overall pick, and we here at Rum Bunter will be doing plenty of coverage as we approach the draft, during the draft, and after the draft. As we get closer to the draft, we’ll be giving our opinions through mock drafts.

Mock drafts have been done all around the internet by all different baseball writers, and we’re no different. Earlier in June, I put out my “way-too-early” mock draft. But now we’re less than three weeks from the draft. So who could the Pirates select in their first five rounds?

No. 4 overall – SS/2B Termarr Johnson

Now I know multiple people have the Pittsburgh Pirates taking Brooks Lee or another college bat at no. 4, but I’m going to go against the grain. This draft is way too high school heavy to completely rule out the Pirates picking someone like Termarr Johnson, who is seen as a top-three talent.

Johnson’s offensive potential has been compared to some of the best hitters of all time. According to MLB Pipeline, scouts have compared him to Wade Boggs’ plate discipline and Vlad Guerrero Sr.’s bat-to-ball skill. Basically saying, he isn’t striking out, and he’s going to draw a ton of walks. That makes his hit tool the best in the entire draft. But make no mistake, he’s also a power hitter.

MLB Pipeline projects him to have 60-grade power, which is well above average and in the low-tier elite territory. There’s 25-30 home run power in that 5-10, 175-pound frame. Johnson might not be blazing fast, but he can swipe a dozen bags if given the chance. He’s currently a shortstop but will likely have to transition to second base. He just doesn’t have the arm to play short, long term, though he probably will play a decent amount of shortstop early in his pro career.

The kind of plate discipline and hand-eye coordination that Johnson has can’t be taught. He’s just barely 18 years old, so there’s an excellent case to be made that he’ll only get better with his focus solely on professional baseball and with professional coaches. Johnson has a future of a .300/.400/.500 hitter with 40 doubles and 25 home runs.