The MLB draft is this weekend, and the Pirates will have a lot of opportunities to add talent to their organization with the fourth overall pick and the fourth biggest bonus pool.
Our draft previews will go live on the site later in today’s premium article drop. We will also have reports on every pick the Pirates make from Sunday through Tuesday, and draft recaps all week next week.
Most of those picks will start off at the lowest levels, and won’t arrive for several years.
Meanwhile, at the highest level, the Pirates optioned rookie outfielder Jack Suwinski to the minors after yesterday’s game. The 23-year-old has 14 home runs, but has been struggling at making any kind of contact recently.
The Pirates will end up getting an extra year of control from Suwinski by not keeping him up the remainder of the season. You could easily argue that he has things to work on, beyond the power.
In his place, the Pirates are likely to bring up outfielder Greg Allen, who was a veteran addition with sleeper potential. The Pirates have tried this approach across the board this year. Some of those sleepers haven’t worked out, with Yoshi Tsutsugo being the biggest example. Others have put themselves in position to be trade candidates this month, including Jose Quintana.
The outfield will likely include Allen, Ben Gamel, and Jake Marisnick. Allen is the youngest of the group, at 29 years old. That trio looks bad at the moment because Bryan Reynolds is injured. It also looks bad because the Pirates have yet to see a young outfielder stick at the big league level.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a return of Suwinski and Travis Swaggerty by the end of the season. I’d also expect Cal Mitchell to get another opportunity.
Allen did take a step up last year in limited time with the Yankees, and has years of control remaining. Despite his age, he could emerge as a future bench option, possibly replacing Gamel, who is a free agent after this season.
Once the trade deadline passes, the Pirates should focus their outfield time on the future, aiming to get players ready for the 2023 season. Because right now, there’s no starter lining up on either side of Bryan Reynolds. And the draft isn’t going to change that any time soon.
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Williams: Are the Pirates Headed in a Positive Direction?
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