Pittsburgh Pirates 2023 Draft Class: Who is Joining the Organization? Who is not?

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The Pittsburgh Pirates had 3 selections on day 1 of the 2023 Draft. Of course, the most important day is day 1 and the good news is the Pittsburgh Pirates were able to sign their first day selections. In fact, they signed 20 out of the 21 players that they drafted.

Pick 1, $9.72 million slot: Paul Skenes, Pitcher, LSU
The Pittsburgh Pirates gave Paul Skenes a record bonus of about $9.25 million, surpassing Spencer Torkelson's record bonus in 2020 by nearly $800K. Skenes would end up getting the largest bonus out of any player in the Draft which was a surprise as many expected Dylan Crews to surpass the number Skenes received.

Pick 42, $2.05 million slot: Mitch Jebbs, SS, Michigan State
The Pittsburgh Pirates went under slot with their second selection in Big 10 infielder Mitch Jebb. The former Michigan State Spartan received approximately $1.65 million which was about $400K under the slotted amount. Still, he ranked as a top 50 player in the Draft so the Bucs did well here.

Pick 67, $1.13 million slot: Zander Mueth, RHP, Belleville East HS
The biggest over-slot deal that Bucs gave out went to prep pitcher Zander Mueth. The 6'5'' prep arm is already ranked as one of the team's top pitching prospects. FanGraphs ranks him as the team's 15th-best prospect already. Mueth signed for a bonus of about 1.8 million which was about $700k over-slot.

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a very strong day 1 of the Draft. Let's take a look at some of the other players they picked up on Day 2 and 3.

Day 2: Made up of all college-level players, none of these players would receive a bonus above slot value. A lot of the savings here were used toward a few players on day 3 of the Draft.

- Pick 73, $990K slot: Garret Forrester, 3B, Oregon State: $772.5K
- Pick 104, $646K: Carlson Reed, Pitcher, West Virginia $600K
- Pick 140, $455K: Patrick Reilly, Pitcher, Vanderbilt: $453K
- Pick 167, $351K: Hunter Furtado, RHP, Alabama: $348K
- Pick 197, $273K: Jaden Woods, P, Georgia (GA): $271K
- Pick 227, $216K: Austin Strickland, P, Kentucky (KY): $197K
- Pick 257, $184K: Danny Carrion, P, University of California - Davis (CA): $157K
- Pick 287, $171K: Landon Tomkins, P, Louisiana Tech (LA): $15K

Day 3: All picks on day 3 of the Draft are allowed to receive at most $150K. However, any savings from other selections can be given to go over the $150K "slot".

- Pick 317: Magdiel Cotto, P, Kentucky (KY): $197K
- Pick 347: Khristian Curtis, P, Arizona State (AZ): $497K
- Pick 377: Charles McAdoo, 2B, San Jose State (CA): $150K
- Pick 407: Garrett McMillan, P, Alabama (AL): $150K
- Pick 437: John Lopez, C, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy (PR): $125K
- Pick 467: Justin Miknis, C, Kent State (OH): $75K
- Pick 497: Daniel Cuvet, 3B, ESB Academy (FL): DID NOT SIGN. Committed to the Miami Hurricanes
- Pick 527: Kalae Harrison, SS, NC State (NC): $150K
- Pick 557: Tyler Kennedy, P, Florida SouthWestern State College: $172K
- Pick 587: Peyton Stumbo, P, Nevada (NV): $150K

Overall the Pittsburgh Pirat sspent just over $17 million on their 2023 Draft class. They failed to sign one high school player in Daniel Cuvet. Cuvet was ranked as a top 250 prospect by MLB Pipeline, but the Bucs were not able to work out a deal with him. While they could have been more aggressive in spots, it looks to be a college heavy Draft which could suggest their hopes to compete in the near term future.