Baseball America and MLB Pipeline released their final mock drafts today, ahead of the 2024 MLB Draft, which starts tonight at 7:00 PM EST.
Baseball America stuck with prep position player Konnor Griffin as their projected pick. Griffin has more projected upside than any of the college hitters who would be available for the Pirates, and would be a test for their development system, which doesn’t have a good track record with hitters.
The projected pick of Griffin came with Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz still on the board.
BA also projected out the Competitive Balance Round, projecting prep right-hander Bryce Meccage at 37th overall. He’s the son of long-time Pirates pitching coach Justin Meccage, and grades as the 71st best prospect in the draft, according to BA’s top 500.
MLB Pipeline went with Nick Kurtz with both projections from Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo. Both writers suggest that the Pirates could go with someone outside of the top ten ranked picks. They also made their selections with at least one of the more projectable prep players on the board. Callis went with Kurtz over Bryce Rainer, while Mayo went with Kurtz over Griffin.
BA’s mock draft had dart throw names for the later picks. They included SS Griff O’Ferrall (ranked 115th), LHP Jared Spencer (194), LHP Griffin Herring (172), and RHP Chris Cortez (90).
On Friday, I wrote that Kurtz would be my pick over the rest of the guys who project to be available for the Pirates. I like the plate patience and power combo from Kurtz, along with his ability to already play first base. This would leave the Pirates with less work to develop him into a Major League first baseman, helping to counter their development issues.
In terms of throwing darts for the later rounds, one player who stands out to me is LSU right-hander Thatcher Hurd. The 6′ 4″, 200 pound right-hander ranks 128th by Baseball America, sitting 94-95 MPH with his fastball, and touching 97-98. He projects for three above-average or better pitches, with below-average control being his big setback. Hurd spent a lot of time working as the throwing partner to Paul Skenes last year.
