The Pittsburgh Pirates have the third overall draft pick today when the third round of the 2022 MLB draft starts up again at 2 PM.
The break between days of the draft gives teams time to talk to players about potential over-slot deals and figure out who might work well with their bonus pool. With that in mind, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pirates went over-slot in the third round with the 83rd overall pick. This pick has a $770,300 value.
Here’s a look at the top ten available players according to MLB Pipeline. I’m using their list because the MLB draft tracker has already sorted out the top remaining picks. I also included the ratings for the same players according to Baseball America.
Brock Porter is the top available player according to Pipeline, rated as the 11th best prospect. He has a commitment to Clemson, a school that lost Bubba Chandler to the Pirates on day two last year. Here is his Draft Prospect Watch article from our site. BA ranks him 12th.
Tristan Smith is a lefty pitcher who ranks 46th overall, the second highest ranked available player. He’s also a high school player and he also has a commitment to Clemson. He has good velocity and the makings of a solid breaking ball, but he lacks solid control and his changeup needs major work. He’s also already 19 years old. BA ranks him 64th.
Malcolm Moore is a high school catcher with a high upside bat. He has a Stanford commit, so that could be a costly buy. Pipeline has him ranked 57th. He’s raw behind the plate and not guaranteed to stick, but the bat will play up at a less valuable position, though first base is probably the fallback option since his running is well below average. He’s also already 19 years old. BA ranks him 66th.
Jonathan Cannon ranks 60th overall and he’s a college pitcher, so buying him out of a commitment isn’t an issue here. He’s displayed first round stuff at times, but he also missed two starts this year, which might be a bit concerning. However, the Pirates took a second round pick who just recently had Tommy John surgery. Cannon doesn’t fit the prep trend, but he would certainly add a strong college arm to the mix. BA ranks him 46th, ahead of Thomas Harrington, who the Pirates took 36th overall.
Gavin Guidry is a high school shortstop out of Louisiana, who just turned 19 years old a few days ago. Pipeline ranks him 70th, while BA ranks him 86th. Basically, he’s an early third round pick according to these sources. He has a commitment to LSU, which could be tough to buy him out of since he’s from the same state. Guidry is also a pretty good pitcher and BA says that he’s a prospect either route he goes, which could be interesting if the Pirates want to try him as a two-way player.
Trystan Vrieling from Gonzaga is basically the same story as Jonathan Cannon, minus the injury concern. He didn’t slide to them, so he shouldn’t cost anything extra to sign. He’s a solid starting pitcher with a track record, so if the Pirates took him, it would be them stocking up on college pitching this year. BA isn’t as high on him, ranking him 104th, compared to 71 for Pipeline.
Bryce Hubbart, Florida State pitcher. See Vrieling and Cannon. Solid pick in this spot, but not likely to see an over-slot deal. Pipeline ranks him 72nd, BA has him 79th, so he’s early third round material.
Neal Brady, IMG Academy catcher. This is an interesting one. Lefty hitting catcher, with an LSU commit. Pipeline ranks him 74th. BA is 83rd, which matches up perfectly for the Pirates. He’s small for a catcher, at 5’9″, 180 pounds. He doesn’t turn 18 until after the minor league season is over. He’s a solid defender and his bat gets a 55 grade, with potential for power in the future.
Sam Horn, high school pitcher, who is a two-sport star. He excels in football and has a commitment to Missouri. He actually gets Bubba Chandler comps as a pitcher/quarterback and the belief is that he will be costly to buy from his commitment. Extremely athletic with huge potential on the mound if he concentrates on baseball. Pipeline has him 76th. BA is down a round lower at 106th.
Bradley Loftin, a 6’3″ lefty prep pitcher, ranked 79th by Pipeline. There’s a huge disagreement here with his spot between Pipeline and BA, who has him 264th. However, BA talks him up as a player who has really risen up the ranks due to added velocity. If he’s a pick here, it’s because the Pirates are more in line with the Pipeline rating. He has a Mississippi State commit. He’s considered raw on the mound, as scouts didn’t get many looks at him and he played soccer during the fall.
Trey Dombroski, lefty college pitcher. I really stopped this list at the top ten names, but this extra one here is because I share relatives in common with Dombroski and the Pirates should probably take him in the fourth round. I wouldn’t be mad if they did. He ranks 111th for Pipeline and 117th for BA. He’s a 6’5″ crafty lefty, with two above average breaking balls and 70-grade control. Pipeline says a safe bet to be a big league starter due to his command and ability to mix pitches.
Those are just some names to watch. We will take a second look at this prior to tomorrow’s first pick (11th round).
