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Grading the last 10 Pirates’ first-round draft picks
How has the Pirates' draft history held up over the past decade?
The MLB Draft is right around the corner, and the Pirates have the ninth overall pick in the first round this year. Over the last 10 summers, the Pirates have had some decent first-round picks, but have also chosen some significant busts. In our estimation, here's how the last 10 first-rounders the Pirates have taken grade out.
Pirates Draft Grades: Where are the Pirates' last 10 first round picks now?
2023: Paul Skenes, A+
This grade is a no brainer, as Paul Skenes is one of the best pitchers in baseball and has only pitched in 11 games. He is heading to Arlington for his first All-Star Game, which is very special, with the honor coming just a year after he was drafted. Skenes will also be starting this game for the National League.
After throwing seven no-hit innings against the first place Brewers, Skenes now has a 6-0 record with an earned run average of 1.90 in 66.1 innings pitched and has struck out 89 batters. Opponents are batting just .201 against him and his WHIP is at 0.92.
This gives Skenes an easy A+ grade.
2022: Termarr Johnson, B
The Pirates' 2022 first-rounder, Termarr Johnson, has had an interesting start to his minor-league career. He just turned 20 years old and he has shown great signs of plate discipline and power. Although his batting average has not been that high, his career OPS is at .820, which is very impressive.
This season, Johnson started off slow, but recently he has been on fire. Through 79 games, Johnson has a .244 batting average with nine home runs and 38 runs batted in. He also has an OPS of .788, which includes an on-base percentage of .394 and a slugging percentage of .394. His wRC+ sits at 128, and his strikeout percentage is at a career low of 22.6%.
He is graded at a B because he has been good, but his consistency has not been great. His stats are solid after his hot start, but each season, he has started the season off very slowly.
2021: Henry Davis, C-
Henry Davis has been dissapointing this season with his regression. He was not outstanding in his freshman season, but that is understandable for a rookie. The organization believed he would take the next step forward in his career in Year 2, but he did the opposite.
In the majors this season, Davis has a batting average of .153 with one home run and five runs batted in. He also has an OPS of .503, which includes an on-base percentage of .267 and a slugging percentage of .235. His wRC+ is not good at 48, and his strikeout percentage is high at 39.2%. He has done well in Triple-A this season, but it has not translated to MLB.
He is graded a C- here due to his regression in his second year, but was not entirely great in his rookie season, either. He has a lot of potential and is still going to be a big part of the team's future (we hope).
2020: Nick Gonzales, B+
After the 2023 season, fans lost a lot of hope for Nick Gonzales, but it was just his rookie season. He made some changes and is now establishing himself as the Pirates' everyday second baseman. In his second major league season, Gonzales has been great.
This season, Gonzales has a batting average of .272 with five home runs and 32 runs batted in. He also has an OPS of .721, which includes an on-base percentage of .311 and a slugging percentage of .411. His wRC+ is at 99, and his strikeout percentage sits at 22.7%.
He is graded a B+ because he has a little more to prove at the big-league level. He has impressed many people, but he needs to remain consistent.
2019: Quinn Priester, D+
Quinn Priester is finally a part of the Pirates after spending four seasons in the minor leagues. He has had a solid career in the minors, but it has not translated to the big league level. In 2023, he got his first taste of MLB and struggled badly. His earned run average was 7.74 and his WHIP sat at 1.70. After a solid stretch in Triple-A in 2024, Priester got another chance, but struggled and then found himself on the injured list.
He has returned, though, and recently delivered one of his best starts of his career. On the season, Priester has a 1-5 record with an earned run average of 4.30 in 37.2 innings pitched and has struck out 28 batters. Opponents are batting .272 against him, and his WHIP is at an elevated 1.46. He could be improving, though; his xFIP is at 3.89, which is not bad at all.
Still, Priester has earned a D+ because of how poorly he has done in the big leagues. The Pirates should not give up on him at all, but he has not been great in the majors.
2018: Travis Swaggerty, F
Travis Swaggerty was probably one of the worst first-round picks the Pirates have ever taken. He got released last season, and still has not been signed by anyone. He spent six seasons with the team before ultimately being released.
He spent five games in the majors and picked up just one hit in nine at-bats. He batted .200 in Triple-A during the 2023 season, which led to his release. Since then, he spent time in the White Sox and Dodgers organizations briefly, but did not get any playing time.
This grade is an F.
2017: Shane Baz, C
Shane Baz is a tough player to grade for the Pirates, because he did not spend much time with the team. He only played for the Pirates' FCL team before being a part of the Chris Archer package that is extremely famous for being one of the worst deals in Pirates history.
Baz currently has not played much in the majors, but he has been productive in the small amount of innings he has pitched. Baz has an earned run average of 4.26 in 50.2 innings pitched and has struck out 59 batters. Opponents are batting just .235 against him and his WHIP is 1.18.
He is graded in the middle with a C because the Pirates did not really get an opportunity with him.
2016: Will Craig, F
Everyone in baseball knows the prospect Will Craig, but not exactly for his bat. He is notoriously known for a play that occurred with two outs, when Javier Baez hit a ground ball, but decided to run backwards and trick Craig, resulting in a run for the Cubs. Even aside from that play, he did not have a very good career in MLB, which sent him overseas.
He had a solid minor-league career, but when he got called up, those numbers did not translate. Craig batted .217 with one home run and three runs batted in. He also had an OPS of .577, which includes an on-base percentage of .277 and a slugging percentage of .300. His wRC+ was 53 and his strikeout percentage was at 33.8%.
His poor career earned him an F grade.
2015: Kevin Newman, C+
Kevin Newman was the Pirates' first-rounder in 2015, and he had a decent few years with the Pirates. His best season was his rookie year in 2019. He batted .308 with 12 home runs and an OPS of .800. Much later, during the 2022 offseason after a number of middling campaigns, the Pirates sent him to Cincinnati in exchange for Dauri Moreta, who was great for the Pirates in 2023, but suffered a torn UCL during spring training this year.
Newman is still in the major leagues with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has an fWAR of 1.0 through 67 games, so he is still a fairly productive player. He finished his Pirates career with a .260 batting average with 20 home runs and 143 runs batted in. He also had an OPS of .660, which included an on-base percentage of .305 and a slugging percentage of .355.
That's a C+ effort. Despite being powerless, he was productive in Pittsburgh and generated a solid reliever in Moreta.
2014: Cole Tucker, D-
Cole Tucker was the Pirates' first-rounder in 2014, and he has not had a very successful major league career. He played for the Pirates at various points from 2019 through 2022 before eventually being designated for assignment. He did not play many games in each of his seasons, typically serving as a "cup of coffee" guy. He is still in the league, toiling in the Angels' farm system.
With the Pirates, Tucker had a batting average of .211 with five home runs and 40 runs batted in. He also had an OPS of .582, which included an on-base percentage of .266 and a slugging percentage of .316.
He is graded a D- since he has not had a great career with the Pirates, but still had moments of being productive with the team.