Hopes of the Pirates picking either Vanderbilt pitching studs Kumar Rocker or Jack Leiter seem to be turning into just a fantasy.
93.7 The Fan Pirates insider Jason Mackey of the Post-Gazette agrees with fellow baseball writer Keith Law that it’s looking like the Bucs will not take the best player in the draft with the overall number 1 pick.
“That is everything I’ve been hearing,” Mackey told The PM Team. “That’s becoming to sort of be the consensus around them right now.”
Mackey talked to Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington earlier this week and he told him he believes that this year’s draft is deep and that they can use their money with other picks in the draft and not using most of it with the first pick.
“What is comes down to is they have a group of about eight guys that they really, really like, he didn’t saw that is that explicit of terms so please don’t take it that way but we were talking about this idea of when it is smart to try to save on that slot, try to cut some money off of there and repurpose it into other selections,” said Mackey.
Cherington believes they can still get good players with their second and third pick.
Mackey is hearing that Marcelo Mayer, short stop out of high school in Eastlake, CA has been the most constant name that has come up that the Pirates could get to sign under the slot.
Mackey says he likes the strategy but also admits “I would have a really hard time passing on Jack Leiter.”
MLB.com currently has Mayer as their top prospects, so maybe they will be able to get the best projected player, but Rocker and Leiter are players that can make an impact sooner than later.
Top 10 from MLB.com
Marcelo Mayer, SS, Eastlake (CA)
Jordan Lawlar, SS, Jesuit Prep (TX)
Jack Leiter, RHP, Vanderbilt
Henry Davis, C, Louisville
Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt
Brady House, SS, Winder-Barrow (GA)
Jackson Jobe, RHP, Heritage Hall (OK)
Kahlil Watson, SS, Wake Forest (NC)
Ty Madden, RHP, Texas
Colton Cowser, OF, Sam Houston
Mackey adds that it's not that the Pirates won't spend all their money, but they will spread it out.
The Pirates are in a good position with the number 1 overall pick, but it’s not going to be easy for Cherington and his staff.
The 2021 Major League Draft is July 11-13.