Could the Pirates’ draft strategy foreshadow how they’ll approach the trade deadline?

The Pittsburgh Pirates already have a ton of pitching. Of course, there’s Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, and Jared Jones fronting the rotation, but they have lefties Marco Gonzales and Bailey Falter under control through 2025 at the very least (Falter through 2028), Braxton Ashcraft and Quinn Priester on the 40-man roster, a myriad of top prospects, and Johan Oviedo, who will return in 2025 given he does not suffer any major setbacks. Luis Ortiz may have also broken out as a rotation option.

Even below those many names, the Pirates have also taken a bunch of pitchers in the draft in the last few years.

Since Ben Cherington took over as the Pirates’ general manager, 45 of the Pirates’ 69 total picks have been non-two-way pitchers, which accounts for over 65% of their total players selected. It’s possible the Pirates once again select top pitchers, at least early in the draft. If they choose to go down this route, could this foreshadow their trade deadline activity?

The top pitcher in the first round who has the best chance of being available when the Pirates are on the clock with the ninth overall pick is Trey Yesavage. The East Carolina University right-hander finished off his season with 93.1 innings pitched, a 2.03 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and 4.53 K:BB ratio. Yesavage had a 40.4% K% while allowing a free pass to 8.9% of the batters who faced him. 

Yesavage isn’t a hard thrower like some of the other top pitchers in this year’s draft, throwing his four-seamer 93-95 MPH. The pitch plays beyond its velocity because of its good movement up in the zone. Both his slider and changeup are two more above-average offerings that he can get swings and misses on at a good rate. Yesavage’s curveball is a fourth offering that could be an average pitch. Along with a solid arsenal of offerings, he can also locate well. His late-season medical issue was worrisome, and might lead to a further slide than initially expected.

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The Pirates may also have the opportunity to take either Hagen Smith or Chase Burns. While both top pitchers are projected to go earlier than the ninth overall pick, it’s not an uncommon occurrence a player falls further than expected; ESPN's insider Kiley McDaniel projected a very slight chance of Smith falling to 11/12 on a conference call Wednesday morning.

Either Burns, Smith, or both could possibly find themselves still on the board when the Pirates are selecting. Both are power pitchers with some questions about their command, but each has ace-level potential.

Many mock drafts have the Pirates taking Yesavage, or suspect he'll be available when the Pirates are on the clock, landing with a team sitting around Pittsburgh's draft slot. Baseball America’s recent staff mock draft had the Pirates taking the right-hander. MLB Pipeline has him going 14th overall in their mock draft. but mentions Yesavage as a potential candidate should the Pirates turn to pitching. But even looking past the ninth overall selection, some foresee the Pirates also taking a pitcher with the 37th pick.

Baseball America, once again, in their recent mock draft has them taking high school righty Bryce Meccage. MLB Pipeline also has them taking the same pitcher 37th overall. Mount Lebanon high schooler David Shields also should not be ruled out as a potential selection at No. 37. Baseball America’s mock draft has Shields going 39th overall, just two picks after the Pirates' choice. He’s considered one of the 40 best players in this year’s class.

If the Pirates go with pitchers early in the draft, it seems very likely they would look to move some of the existing pitching prospects atop their system. This is especially true if they take a pitcher with the ninth overall pick, and even more so if they double up in the first round. 

It's hard to envision a situation where the Pirates take one of Yesavage, Burns, or Smith and don’t look to move pitching that’s already in-house. There are clear holes in the lineup, and taking more pitching gives them more arms than they’ll know what to do with and enough pitching to build an eight-man rotation next year. If they draft arms with one or both of their first-round picks, there's no reason why they wouldn’t try and make a move for a bat using guys already in the farm.