Final review and grades of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2024 MLB Draft class

The third and final day of the 2024 MLB Draft has come to a conclusion, marking the end of another successful cycle. This year, the Pittsburgh Pirates had the ninth overall selection in round one, as well as a competitive balance round A pick, followed by rounds two through 20. Overall, the Pirates selected 21 players. So, how did the Pirates do? Who are the best players they took, and which ones are going to be worth watching in the coming seasons?

Pirates MLB Draft Grades: Assessing the Class of 2024

Highest ceilings

It’s pretty evident who has the best ceiling of all the Pirates’ draft picks. That’s first-rounder Konnor Griffin. The shortstop/center fielder was ranked as the best high schooler by both MLB Pipeline (eighth-best prospect overall) and Baseball America (ninth-best prospect). Griffin comes with superstar potential, and if he reaches his ceiling, he could be a key cog in a future Pirates lineup.

A 6’4”, 210-pound kid, Griffin has both strength and bat speed, which leads to huge power projection. He’s also considered a double-plus base runner. Griffin has also worked off the mound during his high school career, where he’s topped out at 96 MPH. Of course, with that sort of power fastball, he has a strong arm that can play anywhere on the left side of the infield or anywhere in the outfield. On top of all of that, Griffin has shown the athleticism and skill to stick at shortstop or play center field.

The only knock on Griffin’s game is his hit tool. His massive frame means he will naturally have a large strike zone. However, there’s nothing overly concerning about Griffin. This is a potential 30/30 threat who could be a consistent Gold Glove finalist at two premium positions.

Levi Sterling is also deserving of a mention. The high school right-hander was the Pirates’ first-round competitive balance pick. Sterling already sits in the low 90s as a 17-year-old and won’t turn 18 until September. Sterling also flashes a plus curveball, an above-average slider, and a solid changeup. Along with being the sixth-youngest player in the draft and the third-youngest pitcher, Sterling has a ton of projectability. He’s already 6’5” and 200 pounds, which gives him a frame to which he can add more strength and, hopefully, more velocity.

Highest floor

The Pirates love their left-handed pitchers who average out at 90-92 MPH with good command. Josh Hartle falls right into this category of players. The Wake Forest southpaw might not throw hard, but he uses above-average secondaries and plus command to get outs. Hartle somewhat stalled out in his final college season, but he still has a ton of potential.

Hartle pitched 74.2 innings in his final year at Wake Forest, working to an unimpressive 5.79 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, and 3.24 K:BB ratio. Hartle did do some things right. He struck out over a batter an inning with 81 Ks (for a respectable 23.3% K%), and he paired that with a quality 7.2% walk rate. Hartle was prone to the home run ball, allowing 1.57 HR/9.

Hartle averages out at 90 MPH with his fastball, but has some good sinking action to the pitch. Hartle has two breaking pitches. The better of the two is his slider, which sits low-80s. According to Baseball America, this pitch has slurve-like movement. He’ll also throw a cutter in the upper-80s, as well as a mid-80s changeup, but Hartle’s fringy stuff plays up because of his ability to command his offerings. He also fires the ball from a lower three-quarters arm slot.

With how well the Pirates have done recently at bringing along pitchers, especially soft-tossing lefties, Hartle will be a guy to watch. Right now, he projects as a high-floor/low-ceiling type of arm since he doesn’t have powerful stuff, but he is still only 21 with a 6’5”, 210-pound frame. He might be able to add another tick of velocity before he is fully developed.

Most underrated pick

Gavin Adams is certainly an intriguing pick. The Pirates took the right-hander out of Florida State (who transferred from JUCO ball) during the eighth round of the draft. Although he’ll miss time because he had Tommy John surgery early in the year (subsequently missing the entire college season), the potential for a late-inning arm is there within Adams' repertoire.

Adams can hit 101 MPH, regularly sitting in the upper 90s with his four-seamer. He’ll also throw an upper-80s slider with above-average potential. His third pitch is a hard changeup with similar speed to his slider. All three of his pitches project as average or better. His four-seamer is a potential double-plus offering, given its velocity and movement.

As is the case for many young power arms, it’s going to come down to whether or not he can consistently command his stuff well enough to make it count. Adams walked 19 batters in 26.1 innings in JUCO. His command has been all over the place, and it could be even more uncertain after elbow surgery. But even fringe command will play when you have plus to double plus stuff on the mound.

Best value picks

The Pirates selecting Will Taylor in the fifth round was a huge steal. Taylor missed the second half of Clemson’s season with a fractured wrist after diving for a ball. But had this not happened, Taylor probably would have propelled himself further up into the draft as he got off to a strong start to the year, continuing his quality sophomore season from 2023.

Taylor appeared in 32 games with 145 plate appearances, batting a strong .230/.465/.480. Don’t be fooled by that low batting average. He had a .239 batting average on balls in play, which likely would have returned to a more sustainable rate had he played more. Regardless, Taylor walked a ton with a 22.8% walk rate, as well as struck out just 17.9% of the time. The outfielder went yard seven times with a .250 isolated slugging percentage.

Taylor lost a step after knee surgery during his freshman season playing football for Clemson. However, he’s still fast enough to play up the middle. He also has a glove that is good enough to play center. His arm also projects as average. Taylor doesn’t project to be a big power hitter, and some of his deficiencies in the power department were exposed on the Cape Cod League. But his hit tool projects as average, which should help him in the future.

If Taylor comes back at full strength, he could be a massive steal for the Bucs. Had Taylor stayed healthy and shown more power, he may have gone as a third-rounder. The Pirates taking him in the fifth round makes him a very strong selection.

One could also make the argument that Josh Hartle was a good value in the third round. Some had Hartle going as a late first-round or early second-round pick had he built even further off his strong 2023 season. The Pirates were able to take him in the third round after his so-so campaign.

Final overview and grade for Pirates' 2024 MLB Draft Class

Ben Cherington went with a ton of high school players early. Four of their first five picks were high schoolers. They took a fifth high schooler with their 21st and final pick of the draft. Whether they sign all of them, especially the last pick, remains to be seen, but the Pirates went for a handful of players who have a high ceiling. However, there’s also a risk in taking a ton of high schoolers.

Still, this was a pretty good draft class for the Pirates. They got some very good players in the first five rounds with Griffin, Sterling, Hartle, and Taylor, as well as Eddie Rynders and Wyatt Sanford. The class might not be highlighted by the college position player many were expecting, but it's hard to be upset with the guys the Pirates picked.

Final grade: A