Keith Law posted his first mock draft on Wednesday afternoon and had the Pirates picking Virginia catcher Matt Thaiss with the 22nd overall pick in the first round. He also mentioned that the Pirates are higher on Louisville reliever Zack Burdi than any team picking ahead of them, so that could be their choice. They are both talented players, who have both been either ranked 22nd overall by other draft experts, or they have gone to the Pirates in other mock drafts. So the positioning makes sense, but do either of these players make sense for the Pirates?
When I did the draft preview back in February, I looked for athletic players at premium positions, who can get on base. The reason I did that is because that is what the Pirates have focused on recently with top picks. They seem to be leaning towards those type of players now and if they need to move them to another position down the line, they are athletic enough to do that. It seems like they are right in the middle of this focus still, so I’m not sure they would stray so soon with their top draft pick.
We have heard from Kendall Rogers at D1 Baseball that the Pirates seem to be focusing heavy on high school bats, with shortstop Nolan Jones being a top focus. He fits the mold perfect of a player that they might select, though he might not be available when their turn comes up.
The Pirates have changed their focus throughout the years, going heavy for high school pitchers at one point, then taking college pitchers at the top two years in a row. With that in mind, it’s always possible they go elsewhere with their first pick and take someone like Thaiss or Burdi, but my money would be on them taking a premium position player with on base skills.
Thaiss should get on base enough to satisfy that part of the equation, but he isn’t really considered athletic. He’s a catcher now, corner outfielder or first baseman in the future. The problem is that his bat plays well for a catcher, but not for a high offense position. So if you’re switching up your strategy, you’re probably doing it for someone with a power bat for a corner position. Thaiss doesn’t really fit that mold, though we have heard that the Pirates really like prep 1B/OF Alex Kirilloff and he does have more power potential. Kirilloff also goes to Plum HS in Pittsburgh, so he would be an instant fan favorite. He won’t get picked just because of that reason, it would just be an added bonus.
Burdi would really be a change in direction. He’s a reliever, though someone who could probably move quickly through a system. He hits 99-100 MPH consistently and has a plus slider, as well as a very nice change-up. He does come with an asterisk, as some scouts believe his three-pitch mix would work well as a starter. The problem is that others don’t think he had the command to be anything more than a reliever. The only way I see the Pirates taking him this high is if they are in the camp that thinks he has starter potential.
Neither player would be a bad pick for the Pirates due to their talent level. They may not be the highest upside on the board, but they wouldn’t be a stretch either. The problem is that the Pirates would need to stray from their recent draft strategy and they haven’t given any indications that they are moving away from those types of players.
PLAYOFF PUSH
Bradenton is 6-4 in their last ten games. They are in third place in their division, trailing first place by 1.5 games. The first half of the FSL season ends on June 22nd.
West Virginia is 3-7 in their last ten games. They are in fourth place in their division, trailing first place by seven games. The first half of the SAL season ends on June 19th.
PIRATES GAME GRAPH
Source: FanGraphs
TODAY’S SCHEDULE
Today’s Starter and Notes: The Pirates lost 3-1 to the Braves on Wednesday night. Jeff Locke will take the mound tonight for the eighth time this season. He gave up six runs over 5.1 innings against the Cubs last week. Prior to that, he allowed three runs in each of his two previous outings, throwing a total of 13 innings. He will take on Mike Foltynewicz, who threw eight shutout innings in his last start against the Royals. It was just his third start of the year.
In the minors, Jameson Taillon gets the morning start for Indianapolis. In his last game, he struck out a career-high 11 batters. Taillon is tied for seventh in the International League in ERA, and his 0.81 WHIP only trails Chad Kuhl for the league lead.
Tyler Eppler goes for Altoona. He leads the team in ERA, WHIP, innings pitched and strikeouts. Dario Agrazal goes for West Virginia, coming off an outing in which he allowed one run over seven innings. Alex McRae’s 2.79 ERA is tops among all Bradenton pitchers with enough innings to qualify for league leaders.
MLB: Pittsburgh (21-18) vs Braves (10-29) 7:05 PM
Probable starter: Jeff Locke (5.45 ERA, 21:25 BB/SO, 38.0 IP)
AAA: Indianapolis (19-19) vs Columbus (24-15) 11:05 AM (season preview)
Probable starter: Jameson Taillon (2.08 ERA, 5:43 BB/SO, 43.1 IP)
AA: Altoona (22-17) @ Binghamton (16-21) 6:35 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Tyler Eppler (2.70 ERA, 9:28 BB/SO, 43.1 IP)
High-A: Bradenton (20-19) @ Brevard County (14-26) 5:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Alex McRae (2.79 ERA, 14:18 BB/SO, 42.0 IP)
Low-A: West Virginia (19-19) vs Hickory (26-13) 7:05 PM (season preview)
Probable starter: Dario Agrazal (3.09 ERA, 3:20 BB/SO, 32.0 IP)
HIGHLIGHTS
Here is a two-run single from Reese McGuire, his second RBI hit of the game on Tuesday.
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
5/16: Starling Marte placed on paternity list. Alen Hanson recalled.
5/16: Juan Diaz added to Indianapolis roster.
5/15: Pirates activate Cory Luebke from disabled list. A.J. Schugel optioned to Indianapolis.
5/13: Pirates release Daniel Bard.
5/13: Kyle Lobstein optioned to Indianapolis. Pittsburgh Pirates recall Cole Figueroa.
5/12: Cesilio Pimentel activated from West Virginia disabled list. Julio Vivas assigned to Extended Spring Training.
5/9: Mel Rojas Jr. traded to the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations.
5/8: Cole Tucker added to West Virginia Power roster. Logan Ratledge assigned to Extended Spring Training.
5/7: Billy Roth added to West Virginia Power roster.
5/6: Jung-ho Kang activated from disabled list.
5/6: Mel Rojas Jr. assigned to Extended Spring Training.
5/5: Jason Rogers optioned to Indianapolis.
THIS DATE IN PIRATES HISTORY
Two former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date, plus a look at a very bad day for the city of Pittsburgh. The players born on this date include pitcher Ed Whitson and pitcher Bud Culloton. Both of them played for a Pirates team that won the World Series. Whitson played with the club from 1977 until he was traded away during the 1979 season, while Culloton played for the 1925 WS champs. You can read more about each of them in the link above.
On this date in 1890, the Pirates (then called the Alleghenys) lost 18-2, while the Pittsburgh Burghers lost 16-3 that same day. The Burghers were a member of the Player’s League, a Major League which existed for just the 1890 season. Many of the players from that team, were members of the Alleghenys team before and after 1890. The Alleghenys/Pirates were 8-10 before that game and went 15-103 the rest of the way. It was the worst season in franchise history.
Since 1924, the Pirates have a 1-13 record against the Braves whenever they play on May 19th. That one win was a one-hit shutout by Jim Bibby in 1981 and the only hit (and only base runner all game) was off the bat of the lead-off hitter Terry Harper. Bibby set down the next 27 hitters in a row.
