Pittsburgh (93.7 The Fan) - Maybe the only certainty when it comes to the Pirates first-round selection in the MLB draft is that the draft analysts agree to disagree.
By their own admission, most don't know which direction general manager Ben Cherington and his scouting department will go with the seventh-overall pick.
Is it possible that Cherington, overseeing his first draft in Pittsburgh, is equally undecided?
"As we've gotten closer to the draft, we're probably focusing our time on a smaller group of players than we normally we would, which maybe is a good thing," Cherington said in a recent conference call with reporters.
The names most often mentioned as Pirates possibilities for several weeks were college outfielders Heston Kjerstad of Arkansas and UCLA's Garrett Mitchell, along with North Carolina State catcher Patrick Bailey.
Jim Callis, senior writer for MLB.com and MLB Network draft analyst, is almost convinced the Pirates will go the college route.
"Those are the three names I hear the most," Callis told 93.7 The Fan.. "I think this is more of a longer shot, but they could be the first team to take a high school pitcher and possibly Mick Abel, a really talented righthander from Oregon. If I had to bet, I would say it's one of those three college bats."
Callis's commented last Saturday when his mock draft listed Kjerstad as the choice. Early Wednesday, his final mock draft showed the Pirates taking New Mexico State middle-infielder Nick Gonzales, who was the NCAA batting champion in 2019 with a .432 average. Several others now project Gonzales to Pittsburgh.
MLB Network's Jonathan Mayo went with Kjerstad in his final mock draft.
Another player mentioned if the Pirates choose to go for a college pitcher is Georgia right-hander Emerson Hancock. The Pirates haven't drafted a pitcher out of college since 2012 when they took Stanford's Mark Appel and then failed to sign him.
The seventh pick has a $5,432,000 slot value.
The Pirates will make six selections over the five rounds. The additional pick will be number 31, a competitive balance selection.