Pittsburgh Pirates Draft: Three College Pitchers to Watch

The Pittsburgh Pirates could use some pitching that can climb the farm system quickly, making these three college pitchers one to watch in July's draft

The Pittsburgh Pirates will likely put a focus on pitching in this year’s draft past the first round. The first overall pick should be reserved for Dylan Crews and Crews only (not his teammate Paul Skenes, despite him also being highly talented and maybe the best pitcher the draft has seen in a decade or longer). The Pirate system could definitely use a boost when it comes to pitching that is close to being Major League ready.

That’s not to say that the Pirates have no good pitching prospects. Quinn Priester, Luis Ortiz, Jared Jones, Anthony Solometo, Bubba Chandler, Thomas Harrington, and Jun-Seok Shim are all very talented, and all have the potential to be top 100 prospects if they aren’t already. Don’t forget about ones who have undergone Tommy John surgery, like Mike Burrows or Hunter Barco. But there definitely could be more depth, which is something the Pirates should think about adding in this year’s draft.

Today, I want to highlight some college pitchers the Pirates should have on their radar. I tried to keep this as close to the rankings and based on the Pirates’ draft slots as possible. Of course, rankings are just rankings and not where players are officially landing. Though you can at least get a general idea of who could go in what round based on the rankings.

Hunter Owen

Vanderbilt is one of the most famous baseball schools in the world. Many MLB All-Stars can trace their origins through Vandy, including Pirate All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds. The school will once again have multiple early-round players, one of which is a guy the Pirates could have available to them in the second round: left-hander Hunter Owen.

In 57 innings, Owen has a 3.16 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 4.19 K:BB ratio. Owen has a solid 0.95 HR/9 rate, but that’s arguably the weakest link in his statistics. He’s only walked 6.9% of the batters he’s faced while striking out 28.9% of opponents. His overall numbers may not be the most overpowering in college sports, but they’re overall very solid.

Owen typically sits 92-95 MPH with his fastball but has been able to crank up the heat when he needs to. While his four-seamer is an above-average offering, both his slider and curveball are arguably better pitches. His changeup tunnels really well with his four-seamer, adding deception to the off-speed offering.

Owen is a sizeable 6-foot-6 and weighs in at 260-LBS with a clean delivery. There have been some questions regarding his durability. He only pitched in 26.2 innings in 2022 and missed some time at the start of the 2023 campaign. This was the first time he was really given a chance to stretch out. He’s definitely a player I would seriously consider taking in the second round if I were in the Pirate war room.

Tanner Hall

Tanner Hall is a pitcher out of the University of Southern Mississippi. Hall has many traits that could make him a high-floor starting pitcher. Although not an overwhelmingly powerful arm, he has consistently shown a strong ability to command his stuff, which helps everything play up.

Hall has a 2.70 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 3.03 K:BB ratio in 2023. Hall has shown a strong ability to limit home runs throughout college and is sporting a 0.56 HR/9 rate. The only downside is that Hall’s walk rate and strikeout rate are both down from last season. Hall’s 8.8% walk rate and 26.8% strikeout rate are both solid numbers but a downgrade from the 3.1% walk rate and 32.2% strikeout rate he had in 2022.

Despite a downturn in overall numbers, Hall has still looked really good. The right-hander is not a flamethrower. He sits around 88-92 MPH but can generate a ton of weak contact with his four-seamer. But the real weapon in his arsenal is his change-up. Not only does it have some deception because of his ability to tunnel it so well with his fastball, but it has enough tumble and cut to be a pitch with plus-plus potential. Don’t sleep on his slider either, as it’s the pitch he gets the most swings-and-misses with.

Hall has almost laser-like accuracy when he throws his fastball. He also commands his slider and changeup well. Most sites don’t view him as a proto-typical starting pitching prospect, but you can’t help but be intrigued by his ability to command his stuff and put it where he wants. That could help his stuff play up in the long run and make him a long-term starting pitching project for whichever team drafts him.