Pirates 2020 Draft: Unique draft was a hit for the Pirates
With only six picks at their disposal, the Pirates did well in finding ways to impact the major league roster.
The 2020 MLB Draft was perhaps the most unique in its history. The COVID-19 pandemic halted amateur baseball, making it hard to scout, so MLB had a five-round draft.
It was also the first draft with Ben Cherington as General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Looking back at it now, it’s hard not to believe the Pirates hit this one out of the park. Generally, if you can get one or two players to make an impact per draft, you are doing something right. Decrease the rounds to five, and with limited scouting on most, the hit rate could have ended up much worse.
Entering 2025, the Pirates have the potential to have half of their selections make the Opening Day roster.
Two others were traded for major league hitters, and the final has retired from baseball. That’s five of the six players they took in the 2020 draft, which led to some major league impact.
Nick Gonzales, New Mexico State (7th overall)
It was a slow start for Gonzales, who showed major red flags when facing breaking pitches. While those concerns haven’t been completely erased, he has done enough to where he will enter camp as the favorite to hold down the starting second base job.
He saw his ups and downs in 2024, but there’s enough there for him to be some sort of major-league contributor for the Pirates.
Carmen Mlodzinski, South Carolina (Comp A, 31th overall)
Originally a starter, Mlodzinski shifted to the bullpen in 2023 and has now posted a 2.91 ERA in 86.1 big-league innings. With questions around the closer position, Mlodzinski could be an interesting name to watch if they leave it up to who performs best in camp.
Jared Jones, La Miranda HS (44th overall)
Jones started the trend of the Pirates taking a prep pitcher early in the draft and giving him an over-slot deal to forgo a college commitment. His first professional pitch was clocked at 99 mph, and he’s been throwing gas ever since.
He was the surprise of Spring Training last year, making the team out of camp. He struck out 132 batters in 121.1 innings pitched while posting an xFIP of 3.78. When healthy, Jones was among the most electric pitchers in the majors in 2024. He struck out double-digit Marlins in his major league debut.
Nick Garcia, Chapman (79th overall)
An interesting converted pitcher, Garcia pitched two years in the Pirates system before getting traded to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Connor Joe. Garcia struggled in his lone year in the Rockies system (7.35 ERA in 94.1 IP at AA) before heading to the Giants in the minor league phase of the Rule 5.
He shifted to the bullpen and posted a 3.30 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 57.1 IP across two levels.
Joe played two seasons for the Pirates before being non-tendered this offseason. He hit 20 home runs in that span and put up 2.0 fWAR.
Jack Hartman, Appalachian State (108th overall)
After one year in Bradenton, Hartman was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Ji-Man Choi. In 2024, he pitched at two levels, posting a 3.27 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 44 innings.
Choi spent half a season with the Pirates, spanning just 23 games in which he hit .205/.224/.507 with six home runs and a strikeout rate of 35%.
He was traded to the Padres, along with Rich Hill, at the 2023 deadline for Alfonso Rivas, Estuar Suero, and Jackson Wolf.
Rivas played 40 games for the Pirates, hitting three home runs and posting a wRC+ of 96. Wolf was later traded back to the Padres for Kervin Pichardo, who had a strong year in Altoona. Suero has shown potential in the FCL but has dealt with injuries.
Logan Hofmann, Northwestern State (138th overall)
The Pirates' last pick in the draft, Hofmann, was released after posting a 5.22 ERA in 129.1 innings pitched. His Twitter bio mentions he’s a pitching coach for the Saskatoon Berries Baseball Academy.
Final Analysis
The Pirates turned six draft picks into four major league players who produced positive fWAR during their time with the organization. Looking at fWAR, here is how everyone who has been directly or indirectly involved with this draft class:
Connor Joe: 2.0 fWAR
Jared Jones: 1.8 fWAR
Nick Gonzales: 1.2 fWAR
Carmen Mlodzinski: 0.9 fWAR
Alfonso Rivas: 0.0 fWAR
Ji-Man Choi: -0.1 fWAR
Three of those players are still with the team and are expected to factor heavily into things in 2025. They also have two prospects in the system who were directly tied to this draft: Pichardo and Suero.
All things considered, getting what they did out of this draft was a success, and it only has the chance to improve.
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If the Pirates signed Pete Alonso to 5 years and $125M as projected and front loaded it a little, they could operate the next several years with a payroll of about $110M. And they won’t.
The good news is: Pirates steal an IFA from Dodgers.
The bad news is: Pirates pay double the amount Dodgers promised to a prospect not in top 50.