PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was a couple of years ago after a few of the top draft picks weren’t working out, or not to the scale hoped, that Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said they altered the draft strategy. A little more information about that change heading into this weekend’s MLB Draft.
The last three first round picks have been MLB All-Stars or in the Futures Game. You can argue Paul Skenes was an obvious choice, but the Bucs haven’t always gone with the obvious. Konnor Griffin is already making an impact in the majors at age 20. And 20-year-old starter Seth Hernandez is a part of All-Star weekend in his first season pitching in the Futures Game.
It’s more than those three, there has been an influx of power, or just impact offensive players, which is something the Pirates have desperately lacked. These are the early results from last year’s draft class alone:
- 3B Murf Gray (Comp. Bal. 2nd round) is in the Top 10 in home runs in the South Atlantic League despite playing only 40 games. He has 22 HR in 78 games including Class A Bradenton
- C Easton Carmichael (3rd round) is eighth in RBI in the South Atlantic League (Greensboro) with 55 and has 13 home runs.
- INF Brent Iredale (7th round) has spent time on the injured list but has eight homers in just 41 games with an .835 OPS.
- 1B Jared Jones (9th round) was activated Thursday from the injured list and has 10 homers in 49 games and a .954 OPS
- INF Dylan Palmer (11th round) doesn’t have the power, but 35 steals in 69 games and a .381 on-base percentage
- OF Eddie King (16th round) has 10 homers and an .822 OPS
"I think the first thing that comes to mind is how much we've continued to refine and lean into our alignment and our synergy with the player development group,” said Pirates assistant general manager Kevan Graves.
“It's talked about throughout the industry — the teams that execute the best oftentimes in the draft are those that are disciplined and consistent in their strategy. We really work hard to target players that we feel like we can influence the minute they step onto a minor league field or step into Pirate City.”
And they have done that, Graves said if we would go into their draft room we would notice representatives from all of the corners of their organization from hitting and pitching leaders from the majors on down to what they call their ‘body athlete team’—the group that assesses these draft hopefuls physically along with the mental conditioning group that tries to find how these players will handle the rigors of playing pro baseball.
Graves said they all have a voice and all play a part in every pick on their draft board.
“We brought in other perspectives, coaching perspective, performance, obviously R and D, our analysts, and now it's really a room full of all of those people with very little ego,” said Pirates general manager Ben Cherington. “People are trying to get it right, not be right. I know that's a cliche, but that is what I believe is happening in our draft room.”
“I don't know what the outcomes are going to be, but it gives me confidence that we're going to give ourselves a chance to get to ones we want.”
After trading the 34th overall pick to the White Sox Friday night, the Pirates have four picks in the Top 81.
"I think we are pretty excited this year about the opportunity this year with just the pure Draft capital that we do have,” Graves said. “Feel like it's a deep Draft. A lot of players that we would be excited to add that first night. It just opens up opportunities for you when you have those types of picks and that type of draft pool, really, to get creative.”
“That may mean you take a player with your first pick that requires all or most of that slot bonus, or you may end up that you spreading it out depending on how the board plays out. That holds for 34, 44, 50, all of our picks after five as well. I'd say it's really hard to say we're committing to a strategy today. I think a lot of that will be dictated by how the board plays out. We're pretty excited about what we think we have the opportunity to do with the Draft capital we have this year."
Name Image and Likeness money available to draft picks from colleges, not only those thinking about staying in, but more so those heading to college, plays a big part in decisions. Graves said it starts impacts as early as the third round.
“It’s significant,” Graves explained. “I think historically, you may have seen some of the high school kids who would have signed in the fifth, sixth or seventh round, it doesn’t make as much sense financially for them. If they want to get their careers started, great. Otherwise, from a dollars standpoint, some of the major college programs are paying them just as much if not more than the industry would in that neighborhood of the draft. It’s a big part.”
“You’ll see fewer and fewer high school kids come out after say the fourth or fifth round. I think it becomes a real decision for them and their families, understandably. But it’s had a significant influence on the draft and strategy on execution.”
What else has worked for the Pirates is they’ve embodied the cliché of looking for the best player available, not only in the first round but with every pick. Although he admitted you might see towards the end of the draft where organizational depth needs might influence a decision a little more.
Part of the momentum and optimism in the Pirates organization comes from what happened during the recent drafts and still work to do Saturday and Sunday.
LISTEN to Pirates Asst GM Kevan Graves & look at some of the 2025 picks
LISTEN to Pirates Asst GM Kevan Graves & look at some of the 2025 picks
