Pittsburgh Pirates pursing athletic, naturally gifted players in draft starting to pay off

Pirates have been aggressive drafting players with a two-way background, is that on purpose?

What do Bubba Chandler, Paul Skenes, Jared Jones, and Konnor Griffin all have in common?

They are current or former top prospects in the Pirates system and have a notable history as two-way players.

Skenes was a catcher while also pitching at Air Force before transferring to LSU and focusing only on the latter. Chandler was notably a two-way player and a four-star quarterback who was set to play football and baseball at Clemson.

Jones was a two-way player in high school, and Griffin was a legitimate prospect as a hitter and pitcher before getting drafted ninth overall to do the former.

You can dig deeper into the system and find notable players to hit and pitch. Levi Sterling and Jack Brannigan are two other prospects with a two-way background in our Top 25 prospects.

So, is that something that the Pirates specifically target come draft time?