5 underslot college seniors that should be on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ MLB Draft radar

Drew Woodcox

One of Texas Tech’s best batters last year was corner outfielder Drew Woodcox. Woodcox had the best OPS and SLG% and the second-most home runs of any Red Raider. Baseball America and Prospects Live both named Woodcox a top senior in this year’s draft class.

Woodcox finished out his 2024 season batting .321/.403/.642 with 14 dingers. He struck out in 20.3% of his 192 plate appearances and drew walks at a 12% rate. Woodcox hit for a decent amount of pop. Along with over a dozen homers, his isolated slugging percentage was well over .300, clocking in at .321. Prospects Live mentions that Woodcox has a chase rate sitting around just 20% with average contact rates. He was pitched around a lot and was in the bottom 20% in strikes.

Woodcox’s numbers in the Northwoods League, a wood-bat collegiate summer league, add an extremely promising angle to his resumé. Through 186 plate appearances, Woodcox batted .329/.414/.642. Despite using a wood bat, Woodcox hit for good power with ten homers and a .274 isolated slugging percentage. The league average ISO was just .104. The outfielder drew walks at a 12.4% rate with an above-average 17.2% K%.

While Woodcox is a good athlete, he’s a below average runner with fringy arm strength. He has experience between all three outfield spots, but he started his career out as a first baseman. In 2021 and 2022, Woodcox played 28 games at first. Given his lack of great range, he’d likely see more time back at first base as gets into pro ball.

Woodcox is a bat-first prospect, but someone who has already had success in a wood-bat league. That’s going to stand out for teams, as it shows his raw power can play. Woodcox would be a great senior draftee for the Pirates if he continues to make good swing decisions, make contact at an average rate, and show some utility by playing corner outfield and first base.