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.

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.