Morning Rundown: Pittsburgh Pirates make three picks on day one of the MLB Draft
Pirates take Konnor Griffin with the ninth overall pick
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected prep prospect Konnor Griffin with the ninth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.
One of the best athletes in the draft, with perhaps the highest upside of anyone available, Kriffin could potentially play shortstop or center field and was highly rated as a pitcher.
He was the ninth-ranked prospect on Baseball America with at least a plus tool in four categories. He’s listed with double-plus speed, then a ‘60’ in power, field, and arm.
The Pirates have some of the best pitching depth in baseball, but they have been a little shallow on the hitting side.
He’ll immediately push Termarr Johnson as the top-hitting prospect in the system, and you could make a really good case for Griffin to slot in behind Bubba Chandler in the organization overall.
The Pirates stuck with the prep picks with their other two picks during day one, taking RHP Levi Sterling and SS Wyatt Sanford.
Sterling is a tall, projectable arm with a plus curveball, and it seems like he could grow into more velocity as he gets older. He also has the making of four pitches that could be average, mixing in a sweeper and change-up. Sterling is also one of the younger players in the draft, as he is still just 17.
MLB Pipeline states that Sanford is one of the better defensive shortstops in this prep class. While there are questions about his bat, his defense will play at a premium position.
Day two of the draft will consist of rounds 3-10. The Pirates will pick first at 83. Taking three prep players could mean they look to take a cou
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Top Exit Velocity
Bryan Reynolds - PIT - 110.8 mph - Lineout
Omar Alfonzo - BRD - 109.4 mph - Home Run
Gilberto Celestino - IND - 108.8 mph - Double
Andrew McCutchen - PIT - 106.6 mph - Double
Joey Bart - PIT - 106 mph - Home Run
Top Pitch Velocity
Ben Heller - IND - 97.8 mph
Kyle Nicolas - PIT - 97.5 mph
Kyle Nicolas - PIT - 97.4 mph
Colin Holderman - PIT - 97.3 mph
Kyle Nicolas - PIT - 97 mph
Most Whiffs
Wilber Dotel - GBO - 11
Peyton Stumbo - BRD - 9
Emmanuel Chapman - ALT - 9
Mitch Keller - PIT - 7
Fineas Del Bonta Smith - IND - 5
Luigi Hernandez - BRD - 5
Indianapolis Indians - 5 vs Columbus Clippers - 6
Top Hitter - Henry Davis: 1-4, R, RBI, HR
Top Pitcher - Brady Feigl: 2 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 K
Altoona Curve - 5 vs Bowie Baysox - 3
Top Hitter - Charles McAdoo: 3-4, 2 R, RBI, 2B, HR
Top Pitcher - Emmanuel Chapman: 3.1 IP, H, 2 H, 4 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 4 vs Winston Salem Dash - 1
Top Hitter - Jack Brannigan: 2-2, R, 2 RBI, BB, HR
Top Pitcher - Wilber Dotel: 5 IP, H, ER, 8 K
Bradenton Marauders - 6 vs Jupiter Hammerheads - 5
Top Hitter - Omar Alfonzo: 2-5, R, 2 RBI, HR
Top Pitcher - Luigi Hernandez: 4 IP, 2 H, BB, 2 K
I don’t want to jinx any players from signing but my new top 30(w/out seeing Day 3 yet too) would be:
1.KonnorGriffin
2.TermarrJohnson
3.BubbaChandler
4.BraxtonAshcraft
5.ThomasHarrington
6.MikeBurrows
7.HunterBarco
8.AnthonySolometo
9.WyattSanford
10.YordanyDeLosSantos
11.Tsung-CheCheng
12.PatrickReilly
13.MattAger
14.JackBrannigan
15.EddieRynders
16.LeviSterling
17.JoshHartle
18.MichaelKennedy
19.GarretForrester
20.CharlesMcAdoo
21.KhristianCurtis
22.ZanderMueth
23.LonnieWhiteJr
24.BralynBrazoban
25.Jun-SeokShim
26.KeinerDelgado
27.OmarAlfonzo
28.JaseBowen
29.WillTaylor
30.JhonnySeverino
With the cost of signing the first 3 high school picks it would be reasonable to say the remaining picks will all be college players. Hopefully they will address the lack of hitters in the upper levels but the high school picks were not surprising to me as the new scouting director came from Boston who in his time there made mostly high upside high school players in first several picks. A Red Sox fan I know always went ballistic when they drafted high school SS nearly every year.