Pittsburgh Pirates Draft: Six Potential Later Round Picks

The Pittsburgh Pirates could add one of the best draft prospects in this year's draft, but let's take a look at some potential post round-five prospects

The Pittsburgh Pirates will once again have an early-round draft pick. After getting the no. 1 pick in the first round, they'll have the no. 3 pick in the following rounds after that (plus a competitive balance pick after the second round). Many fans and analysts are looking forward to who the Pirates take in those first few rounds. Pretty much everyone expects them to take Dylan Crews in the first round, and the next few rounds should serve as interesting picks.

However, what I want to look at today are players that could be on the Pirates' post-round five radar. Now it's hard to predict who will get picked where. Just take the last few years. Brock Porter was one of the best pitchers in the draft but went in the 4th round to the Texas Rangers (and signed). Before that, the Pirates took Anthony Solometo and Bubba Chandler in rounds two and three, despite being consensus top 20 draft prospects. They also took Braylon Bishop in the 14th round after being ranked top 100.

However, based on rankings, there are players who probably aren't going to go within the first few rounds, and the only way they do is for a team to go under the slot. So with that, let's take a look at a few middle-round selections.

Braylen Wimmer

Braylen Wimmer is a senior out of South Carolina University. The infielder was drafted once before last year by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 18th round. However, the Phillies and Wimmer could not come to an agreement, and he opted to return to college for his fourth season. He had what was his best college season so far while also showing talent in the Cape Cod League in 2021.

Wimmer finished out his 2023 season batting .297/.405/.551. The right-handed batter went deep a dozen times this year, posting a slugging percentage well over .500. His isolated slugging also clocked in at an elite .254 mark. Not only has he hit for power, but he's stolen 13 bases in 14 attempts. Wimmer has a respectable 11.7% walk rate on top of that.

You won't find a perfect post-round five prospect, and there's undoubtedly some concern with Wimmer's strikeouts. His 20.3% strikeout rate this year is the best he's put up in college. But that is a massive down-tick from his first full college season in 2021 when he struck out at a rate over 25% (25.6%). Plus, Baseball America praised his approach to the plate this season. An 11.7% walk rate is a 5.5% increase from 2022 as well.

Wimmer has mostly played second base throughout his college career. However, he's also seen a handful of games in the outfield and a couple of contests at shortstop. At 6'4", 200 pounds, he'd be a pretty hefty shortstop. Most believe he'll settle into second base or a corner outfield spot. He has graded out as a solid defensive middle infielder, however, so he's not a completely positionless defender.

There's some makeup in Wimmer's game that could help him succeed at the professional level. He's a good athlete who is solidly built. His swing is a little long, which has led to strikeouts in the past, as talked about earlier. However, his change in approach could lead to him getting drafted much earlier than the 18th round. Wimmer is ranked outside the top 200 of both Baseball America and Joe Doyle of Future Star Series and, as a senior, will likely sign for under-slot money. That could be a good 6th-8th round target for the Bucs.

Austin Amaral

If last year's draft taught us anything, the Pirates really like two things: college pitchers and college pitchers who pitched in the Cape Cod League. Austin Amaral from Stetson University has done both. Plus, he has pitched well in 2023.

Amaral has pitched 76 innings for Stetson University. In total, he has a solid 3.30 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and 2.05 K:BB ratio. Amaral has allowed just two home runs all year, leading to an HR/9 of just 0.24. He's also racked up strikeouts with a 24.3% strikeout rate. While his ability to prevent home runs has been elite and well above average at striking out batters, walks have given him some trouble. Unfortunately, he's dished out a free pass to 11.9% of opponents.

The right-hander has good velocity on his fastball, sitting low-to-mid-90s. Although not a flamethrower, it has traits that help it ride through the strike zone. He also throws a sweeping slider. This pitch lacks depth with only single-plane tilt. However, Amaral is able to tunnel both offerings very well. According to reports, right-handed batters have barely been able to touch his slider.

Amaral has a unique wind-up and delivery. He keeps a long arm, fully extending it down and behind his back before bringing it back up and unleashing the ball from an over-the-top arm angle. Now there are certainly questions about his ability to locate. However, unlike someone like Julian Bosnic, for example, Amaral has some athleticism to spare. He's not going to get out of rhythm that throws off his wind-up/delivery and negatively affect his command.

Amaral likely projects as a reliever in the long run. Right now, he mostly uses just two offerings to get outs, and while they're not bad pitches, you're going to want starters throwing three or more average or better offerings. But Amaral is trending in the right direction, and whichever team that drafts him will likely give him every chance to start.

Garrett Edwards

Louisiana State University is packed with talent. Crews and Paul Skenes are two of the most hyped draft prospects in decades. But they're not the only players on LSU's baseball squad who are likely going to get picked in this year's draft, far from it. One of the more talented right-handed pitchers on the team is Garrett Edwards.

Edwards worked as a relief pitcher, tossing 23.1 innings out of the bullpen. Edwards worked to an ERA under 2.00 at 1.93 with a K:BB ratio of 5.4. Edwards also had a WHIP below 1.00 at 0.90. Of the just 16 hits the right-hander allowed, just one single hit left the ballpark. With only one home run allowed in over 20 innings, Edwards' HR/9 rate clocked in at 0.39.

While Edwards worked out of the bullpen, some believe he could become a starting pitcher at the next level. He throws in the mid-90s, topping out at 98 MPH. However, his slider is arguably the better offering. Not only does he have pinpoint command with the pitch, but right-handed hitters have extreme trouble when facing it. His third pitch is a tumbling change-up, an offering that he has a feel for.

Edwards' mechanics lead to a slight concern. He's almost the complete opposite to Amaral, instead having an upward-facing, extremely short arm in his wind-up. It's a stiff motion, as many have pointed out. That's not the only concern. Edwards was only limited to 23.1 innings because of UCL surgery after the first week of April. That essentially eliminates him from playing until the summer of 2024.

The UCL injury and the fact he could end up as a relief pitcher, in the long run, are risks, but definitely not enough to make teams turn away from his pure talent. The Pirates could take him sometime in rounds 8-10 as an under-slot pick to save money after drafting Crews.

Amani Larry

Amani Larry posted some eye-popping numbers at the University of New Orleans in 2022. He batted .370 with an OPS of 1.055 while walking (32) more often than striking out (29). The icing on the cake was his 16 stolen bases. However, many were unsure of the numbers. While they were impressive, he didn't face higher-end competition like he would the following year in 2023. Larry then transferred to Mississippi State in the SEC and has continued to be a highly productive hitter.

Across 230 plate appearances, Larry has slashed .297/.451/.512. The infielder's plate discipline has only gotten better, despite the step forward against better competition. Larry has walked in a whopping 14.8% of his plate appearances while having a strikeout rate of 11.3%. His power hasn't gone up significantly, mostly maintaining where he was in 2022. His ISO clocked in at .208 with New Orleans and .215 with Mississippi. He's also swiped 19 bases with a success rate of 90.5%, a 14.3% uptick from 2022.

Larry makes a lot of contact. In his post-college amateur career, he's struck out more often than he's walked with just one team, that being in the Northwoods League in 2022. Even then, he had a strong 13:14 BB:K ratio in 106 plate appearances. Larry isn't much of a home run hitter. His 16 home runs throughout 488 college plate appearances are respectable, but he's driven the gap to hustle out a double 29 times.

Larry has mostly taken up the keystone in his amateur career. However, he has a couple of games sprinkled in at shortstop and third base. Whichever team drafts him might be inclined to give him some reps at shortstop to see if he can handle the position, even semi-regularly.

Evan Sleight

Evan Sleight is an outfielder at Rutgers who, like other prospects talked about here today, had appeared in the Cape Cod League. Sleight has made some noticeable improvements to his game this year and has the raw tools to be an intriguing pick. He's not completely risk-free, but there's enough to interest teams.

Sleight batted .315/.432/.575 through 252 plate appearances. The left-handed hitter blasted off a dozen times while collecting 14 doubles. All in all, his isolated slugging percentage clocked in at .260. Even better were his walk and strikeout rates. Sleight drew ball four in 12.7% of his plate appearances while striking out just 13.5% of the time. It was by far his best season during his time at Rutgers.

Sleight has been praised for his raw power, delivering plus exit velocity numbers. He also puts up good barrel rate numbers, consistently driving the gaps. Though there is some concern about Sleight's hit tool. Sleight may have posted a solid K% this year, but he struck out in 20% of his plate appearances in 2022 and 23% of the time in the Cape Cod League. He's definitely made improvements, going more to a toe-tap than a leg kick. However, it is something to keep in mind. That's not the only thing that makes Sleight a risk. He's also displayed below-average speed and may end up as a designated hitter in the long run.

I like the mechanical improvements that Sleight has made over the last few years, and it could certainly help him in the long run. Raw power isn't a problem, and he should be able to spray hard-hit liners over the field. Teams are buying into the bat by drafting Sleight.