4 former Pirates first-round pitchers who missed expectations in Pittsburgh

Bryan Bullington

Before there was Skenes and Gerrit Cole, there was Bryan Bullington, the first overall selection of the 2002 MLB Draft. Bullington, who had an incredible career at Ball State, seemed like a sure thing at the time. After his dominant junior season, with a record of 10-2 and ERA of 2.11, Bullington won the MAC Pitcher of the Year award for a second time and was a finalist for the Dicker Howser Trophy. In the 2001 draft, the Pirates had drafted his conference rival, John Van Benschoten, eighth overall out of Kent State. Bullington began his professional career in Single-A the following season and found success between Hickory and Lynchburg. In 2004, he made his way to Altoona and put up respectable numbers. He pitched a scoreless inning in that year’s All-Star Futures Game, and remained one of the Pirates' top prospects. Bullington continued his efforts in Indianapolis in ‘05, pitching to a 3.28 ERA, with nine wins in 104.1 innings pitched, before getting the call to the majors that September. He only made five appearances, starting three games, and struggled in this limited showing. Shortly thereafter, Bullington underwent surgery to repair the labrum in his throwing shoulder, and went on to miss the entire 2006 season.

The rest of Bullington’s Pirates tenure would be marked by inconsistency. While at times he had shown flashes in Triple-A, he never put it together at the major league level, and was eventually designated for assignment before the 2008 All-Star Break. He was later claimed by Cleveland and joined their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, eventually making his way back to the majors. Bullington was eventually DFA’d again, then claimed by the Blue Jays in the offseason, where he worked more as a reliever between the majors and minors.

He signed with Kansas City for 2010, primarily as a starter, and had his best season in years for Triple-A Omaha, with a 2.82 ERA and 1.118 WHIP in 102 innings pitched. Bullington would move on to Japan the following season where he realized his potential. He pitched four seasons for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, was named an All-Star in 2011, and added one year for the Orix Buffalos. In total, Bryan Bullington went 45-45 with a 3.25 ERA and 521 strikeouts as a starter in the NPB. If not for the injuries, who knows how good he could have been for the Pirates?

Daniel Moskos

Best known as the guy taken before Matt Wieters in the 2007 draft, Daniel Moskos certainly has had an interesting career. He was taken fourth overall that year out of Clemson. The Tigers won the ACC and made the College World Series his sophomore year. Moskos had a 2.54 ERA in 53.2 innings pitched and picked up 10 saves that season. College pitchers tend to make their MLB debuts sooner, but this wasn’t the case with Moskos. He remained the minors for several years before making any considerable progress.

Moskos found his stride in Altoona during the 2010 season after fully converting to a relief pitcher. As the Curve’s closer, he maintained an improbable 1.52 ERA, 1.016 WHIP and earned 21 saves. He continued to perform well in Indianapolis in 2011 and was later promoted to the majors. Moskos made his major league debut on April 30 against the Colorado Rockies, and pitched a scoreless eighth inning in the loss. In 31 relief appearances as a rookie, he had a 2.96 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched. However, Moskos never made it back to the big leagues after 2011. 

The following season, he was claimed off waivers by the White Sox, where he remained in Triple-A Charlotte. He would later pitch for the Dodgers' and Padres' top affiliates, in Albuquerque and El Paso, exclusively as a reliever. Moskos also spent time as a professional overseas, pitching for the then-EDA Rhinos (2013) of the Chinese Professional Baseball League and the Tijuana Toros (2018) of the Mexican Baseball League, where he had a 1.26 ERA in 14 games.

After retiring as a player, Moskos served as the pitching coach for both the Charleston RiverDogs and Somerset Patriots before moving up the ladder. Since the 2022 season, he has been the assistant pitching coach for the Chicago Cubs. Most Pirates fans will remember him as a bust, and will remark that they should have taken Wieters, Madison Bumgarner or Jason Heyward with their fourth overall selection instead. While this makes sense in hindsight, the truth is that every team makes mistakes in the draft. This isn’t just a Pirates problem, believe it or not. When a player doesn’t live up to the hype, it’s usually due to injuries that derail their careers. 

Vic Black

Vic Black was the last selection of the supplemental first round in the 2009 draft, so he counts for this list. Of the four names included, he is the least prominent. Black was taken out of Dallas Baptist University, a small school now that’s now a baseball-only affiliate of Conference USA. The Pirates selected Tony Sánchez, a catcher out of Vanderbilt, fourth overall in that same draft. Sánchez, a more well-known bust, likely overshadowed Black in the minds of Pirates fans.

Black pitched well in his brief showing that year, which included seven starts for State College, but labored over the next few minor-league seasons. His breakout came in 2012 for the Altoona Curve. By then a full-time reliever, Black had a phenomenal 1.65 ERA in 60 innings pitched, notching 13 saves. You’ll notice that many former top pitching prospects successfully make the transition to the bullpen. He moved up to Indianapolis in ‘13, further developing his skills, and was named to theTriple-A All-Star Game for the International League team with teammates Josh Harrison, Kris Johnson and Sánchez.

Black later made his debut for the Pirates on July 25 against the Washington Nationals, closing out the eighth inning in an eventual 9-7 Pirates loss. He only made two more appearances for the Bucs before getting dealt to the Mets as the player to be named later in the Marlon Byrd acquisition. Byrd is best remembered for his performance in that year’s Wild Card Game. Black made 15 appearances out of the bullpen for the Mets in 2013. He had a solid 3.46 ERA in 13 innings. He became a regular for them the following season, improving in nearly every measurable statistic, though he missed some time due to a herniated disk in his neck. He spent all of 2015 rehabbing in the minors and was later released.

Black later spent time in the Giants organization in 2017, then pitched for the New Jersey Jackals of the former independent Canadian-American League. Most likely don’t know his connection to the 2013 squad and the infamous “Cueto” game. Had Byrd not been on the team and never hit his solo shot in the second inning, would the Pirates still have beaten the Reds that night? While expectations for someone like Black were relatively low compared to others like Bullington, it would have been interesting to see how his career turned out had he remained in Pittsburgh.