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

The Pittsburgh Pirates' greatest strength right now, without a doubt, is their pitching. Led by 2024 NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award finalist Paul Skenes, their rotation is the best it’s been in recent memory. Jared Jones also had an impressive rookie season, and former All-Star Mitch Keller built upon another solid year. Skenes, Jones and Keller were all drafted and developed by the Pirates organization. Other notable prospects, such as Bubba Chandler and Thomas Harrington, hope to join them sooner rather than later.

This success wasn’t always the norm, to say the least. In the past two decades, there have been a number of highly touted arms that never worked out in Pittsburgh or thrived with other franchises. Here are four former Pirates first-round draft picks that failed to live up to expectations. 

4 Pirates first-round draft pick pitchers who missed expectations

Sean Burnett

Sean Burnett, the Pirates' first-round selection in 2000 (19th overall), had a long career primarily as a relief pitcher, but didn’t last long in Pittsburgh. He had a great start to his career, and was named the team’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year in ‘01 and ‘02. Burnett made his debut for the Pirates on May 30, 2004 against the Cubs, and delivered five innings of one-run ball in a no-decision. He made 12 more starts that season, to the tune of a 5.02 ERA in 71.2 innings pitched. His performance in Triple-A dipped that year, too, his numbers being closer to his time in Pittsburgh than his previous greatness in the minors. Unfortunately, like so many other pitchers, he missed time due to injury and, later, surgeries. For Burnett, this meant losing the entire 2005 season. When he returned to Indianapolis, the results were about the same; not terrible, but not incredible, either. He remained in Triple-A the next two years, and wouldn’t pitch for the Pirates again until 2008, where he worked exclusively as a reliever, to mixed results. 

He improved in 2009, but would later be traded to the Washington Nationals, alongside Nyjer Morgan, in exchange for Joel Hanrahan and Lastings Milledge. Burnett remained in the nation’s capital for the next three seasons and thrived in his new role. His best year as a National came in 2010. In 63 innings pitched in relief, Burnett had an elite 2.14 ERA and 1.143 WHIP, good for 2.0 bWAR. He later signed as a free agent with the Angels, where he was used sparingly across two seasons, mainly due to injury. Burnett returned to Washington for a brief stint in 2016, then toiled through the minors for several different teams over the next few years before announcing his retirement in 2019.

For his career, he put up a respectable 3.52 ERA and 5.9 WAR. Had they kept him, it’s unlikely a player like Burnett would have made a huge impact out of the Pirates bullpen, but his lost potential as a starting pitcher could have helped tremendously had he remained healthy and continued to dominate like he did in Hickory, Lynchburg and Altoona.