3 college flamethrowers who should be on the Pirates’ MLB Draft radar

If there’s one thing you can say about the Pittsburgh Pirates that’s positive, it’s that at least they know how to find and develop decent pitchers. Why not play off that strength in the upcoming MLB Draft? Even though the Pirates have plenty of top-flight pitching talent, you can never have enough good pitching. If they choose to go this route, they should target some high-ceiling, hard-throwing college arms.

3 high-ceiling pitchers Pittsburgh Pirates should target in 2025 MLB Draft

Tanner Franklin

Tanner Franklin is a right-hander out of the University of Tennessee. He transferred from Kennesaw State, where he spent both his freshman and sophomore seasons. Now, he’s having a promising year with the Volunteers, where he has a 4.91 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and 6.43 K:BB ratio in 33 innings pitched. Franklin has dramatically improved his walk rate, which sat at 20.6% prior to his transfer, to just 5% so far with Tennessee. Franklin has also continued to strike out opponents at a high rate of 31.9%, which leads to a K%-BB% of 26.9%.

Franklin can hurl some serious velocity. His fastball sits 94-98, but he tops out at 102 MPH. However, he’s only a two-pitch pitcher, which limits his upside. He’ll also utilize a low-90s cutter. Franklin has improved his mechanics at Tennessee, which should help him with his command, but there’s definitely still room for improvement.  MLB Pipeline ranks Franklin as the 106th-best prospect in this year's draft, and he could still be on the board for the third or fourth round.

Mason Morris

Mason Morris is a sleeper prospect in this year’s draft. He’s changed his arm slot and has gained a ton of velocity. The right-hander has put up a 3.60 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 3.25 K:BB ratio for the University of Mississippi this season. He’s handed out a walk to 10.6% of opponents, but has struck out over a third of opponents with a 34.5% K%. Morris has mostly been used as a multi-inning arm out of Mississippi’s pen, with 45 innings pitched across 15 games.

According to MLB Pipeline, Morris raised his arm slot, and it helped him gain nearly four MPH of velocity. He’s now sitting 95-97 MPH and hitting 99. Still, his best pitch is a low-90s cutter with double-plus potential. His second breaking pitch is an upper-80s slider. All three of his pitches have at least above-average potential. His command leaves something to be desired, and he’ll likely need to develop some sort of offspeed offering as he gets into pro ball to grow as a starter. But Morris is one pitcher the Pirates should be keeping an eye on. He is ranked 116th by MLB Pipeline, but could go earlier, given his relatively high ceiling.

Marcus Phillips

Tanner Franklin isn’t the only Vol who can crank the heat up. Marcus Phillips is a starter for Tennessee, having an even better year than his aforementioned teammate. In 67.2 innings, Phillips owns a 3.72 ERA, 27.4% strikeout percentage, and a walk rate of 8.9%. His WHIP also sits at 1.26, and his K%-BB% comes in at 18.5%.

Phillips is a physically imposing presence on the mound, standing at 6’4" and 250 pounds. MLB Pipeline compares his build to Kumar Rocker, but with more athleticism, as he was a two-way player in community college before transferring to Tennessee. Phillips has a wide enough arsenal to potentially stick as a starting pitcher. His fastball sits 96-98 MPH and tops out in triple-digits. Although it may not have above-average movement, his velocity, arm slot, and extension off the mound make the pitch play up.

His breaking ball is a mid-80s slider, while his offspeed offering is a low-90s changeup. Phillips hasn’t used the latter pitch very often, but it has flashed plus potential when he has thrown it. But there is definitely relief risk with Phillips. His command isn’t spectacular, and his arm action could be a cause for that. But even with fringy command, Phillips’ stuff is good enough to potentially be a high-leverage reliever, at the very least.