With their 12th round pick in the 2022 MLB draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected right-handed pitcher KC Hunt out of Mississippi State.
Hunt stands 6’3″, 200 pounds and he just turned 22 years old. He has struggled in three seasons of college ball at Mississippi State, with a 6.86 ERA, a 1.60 WHIP and a 47:23 SO/BB ratio in 42 innings. This past season he had a 7.46 ERA in 25.1 innings. He pitched well as a starter in summer collegiate ball after this season, posting a 2.65 ERA and an 0.77 WHIP in 17 innings, with 26 strikeouts, so he’s had some recent success. He was going to start this season, but a February injury kept him out until April, and he returned in a bullpen role. He was not among the top 250 prospect for MLB Pipeline or top 500 for Baseball America.
According to reports, he throws 93-94 MPH and his go-to pitch is a slider.
+ postsJohn started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
Apparently the C in KC is Clemente
Gotta be careful with that name
I always like to see the Pirates draft pitchers, but this is getting a little nuts. And they are almost all college guys. If they sign everyone, how are they going to fit them all on A-ball rosters next year?
At some point, don’t you need to draft success?
In the mlb.com draft tracker I found it amusing that he bats lefty but throws righty and then I remembered pitchers are never going to hit again so it doesn’t matter.
Alright. Now I feel like they’re just drafting a body type. Guy had near identical career innings in summer ball, as he had at Miss St.
Suggests some gambles coming on HS players.
Hey TJ, is all on you to make this a good draft, apparently!
No love for Harrington or Barko?