Pittsburgh Pirates split focus on day two of 2024 MLB Draft
A recap and analysis of day two at the 2024 MLB Draft
The Pittsburgh Pirates made eight more selections on day two of the 2024 MLB Draft, which consisted of rounds 3-10.
While the previous two drafts were mostly pitching-heavy, this one has been more balanced, with the field split evenly between hitters and pitchers on day two.
Since they took three prep players on day two, they set themselves up to be ready in case each needs over-slot deals to sign. At this point in the slotting system, it’s rare that a top 10 pick doesn’t sign, and it’s generally safe to assume that the two sides have some deal in place by the time the team makes their pick.
Day two can be divided into three categories: prep hitters (1), college hitters (3), and college pitchers (1). I will examine each of those groupings today.
College Pitchers
The Pirates have been getting creative with this demographic lately, especially last year. They drafted players like Carlson Reed, Patrick Reilly, and Khristian Curtis, all of whom had great stuff but suffered from control issues.
I explored this in one of my draft previews, looking for players who might fit what the Pirates generally looked for.
LHP - Josh Hartle - Wake Forest University
This one, at first glance, almost seems like an anti-pirates pick. Hartle’s stuff doesn’t pop, and he is more of a command-over-stuff pitcher with a limited upside.
He entered the season as the top college pitcher available on MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. Both cited his advanced pitchability, command, and how he could be one of the quicker players to the majors.
Hartle struggled this past season, posting a 5.79 ERA in 74.2 innings pitched for the Demon Deacons. He is widely considered to have a below-average fastball, with Baseball America grading it as a ‘40.’ Still, he does have an elite walk rate for a starter (6.7%), and his slider/cutter grades out to mostly above average, if not more.
This will be an interesting project for the Pirates' pitching development. His fastball lacks life, but he has an ideal frame and a good feel for pitching. If there is a team that can get the most out of him, the Pirates seem to be one of them.
RHP - Matt Ager - UC Santa Barbara
In one of my previews, I mentioned this player as a potential fit for the Pirates. He has a strong frame, and while his fastball doesn’t have elite velocity, he gets plenty of carry to help it play up in the strike zone.
Drafting Ager is another buy-low opportunity for the Pirates, as he had a down year like Hartle, even getting relegated to the bullpen (although he did well as the closer, saving 11 games).
The key will be getting Ager back to his 2023 form, where he struck out 30% of the batters he faced while walking 6.8%). It’s a four-pitch mix from a 6’5” frame, which could also get a few more ticks on the fastball.
LHP - Connor Wietgrefe - University of Minnesota
A low arm-slot lefty with a fastball/sweeper mix? Yeah, that feels about right for the Pirates.
Wietgrefe wasn’t ranked on Baseball America or Future Star Series, but he’s put up some solid numbers during his time at Minnesota. He also posted a 0.82 ERA across 11 innings pitched in the Cape Cod League this year, walking just one batter while striking out 12.
It’s a funky delivery that gives reliever vibes, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Pirates had him in the rotation, at least to start. The fastball is in the low 90s, and a Baseball America tweet by Geoff Pontes lists five different pitches he mixed in during the game he observed.
He’s on the older end (already 22), but he's one of the picks that has been growing on me the more information I find on him.
RHP - Gavin Adams - Florida State University
I’ve mentioned before that there are times when I can’t sleep at night, and I’ll flip on some random YouTube videos of pitchers and watch on my phone. It turns out that I've done that with Gavin Adams at some point over the past year; I just can’t remember doing so.
Adams never got to pitch for Florida State after transferring from Indian River State College due to Tommy John, but he has a live arm that could make him an exciting prospect to watch.
Based on the scouting report on Future Star Series, it’s an upper 90s heavy sinker that Adams throws with a steeper approach angle. So it’s not the fastball that the Pirates generally chase, but it’s certainly something they can play with.
He’ll have to throw more strikes, but you can’t argue about the arm talent or what the Pirates have been able to do with similar projects.
Prep Players
Following up on day one, the Pirates took a fourth prep player on day two after taking three on Sunday.
The Pirates were specifically aggressive with prep shortstops, taking three with their first five picks overall.
SS - Eddie Rynders - Wisconsin Lutheran HS
There’s some potential here with this pick. A left-handed shortstop, Future Star Series is high on him, ranking him 132nd on their final top 615 prospects heading into the draft.
They mention Rynders having ‘some present hit-ability and natural feel for leverage that point toward some future game power coming.’
While he has shown some tools that could make him a good shortstop, both Baseball America and FSS think he will move on from that position.
It’s a nice swing, and you can tell there could be some power behind it as he ages.
College Hitters
Of the three college hitters they took on day two, all but one feel like under-slot deals, which we knew would happen with taking three prep players in the first couple of rounds.
OF - Will Taylor - Clemson University
This might be the most intriguing pick of the day. Taylor was among the highest-ranked prep players in the 2021 draft but decided to go to Clemson to play football and baseball.
If that sounds familiar, it should, as that was the route that Bubba Chandler was originally going to take before signing with the Pirates.
Taylor has dealt with all sorts of injuries while in college, hurting his stock. An ACL injury playing football cost him some of his speed, where he has mostly graded out around average.
He has a good approach at the plate, owning an 18.4% walk rate in college, and walked (33) more than he struck out (26) in 2024. Defensively, he’ll have no problem sticking in center, it’s just going to be a matter how much he is going to hit at the next level.
There’s certainly potential here.
2B - Duce Gourson - UCLA
Gourson had a fairly strong career at UCLA, batting .300/.435/.482 over his three-year stay there. FSS seems to like the upside there, saying he could be a future ‘above-average hitter with gap power.’
It’s a profile familiar to the Pirates. He isn’t going to hit the ball hard, but he doesn’t chase it, and he makes solid contact in the strike zone.
C - Derek Berg - Army Academy
I thought the Pirates should explore adding a catcher during this draft, and they do opt to grab one in Berg. He was a solid producer at Army, hitting 15 home runs in 2024 while slugging .605. In 182 career games, Berg hit 29 home runs and stole another 34 stolen bases.
He’s bounced around, playing over 50 games at second base. He looked pretty athletic behind the plate in the little bit available, so it would be nice to see the focus be on catching for now.
Berg also played well in the Cape, batting .273/.385/.591 in seven games last year and slugging a pair of home runs.
To an extent, there have been signs of what Cherington has traditionally liked in his draft picks, but you can certainly feel the influence of some new voices in the room.
They’ve swung for some prep players on day three over the last couple of years, so we see if they can reach for one at some point. The first three picks have a chance to tie up a good amount of the bonus pool, so they may not be looking to make any splashes upcoming.
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It's going to be interesting to see what happens with these college pitchers over time. Without going back and examining Huntington's drafts to corroborate my memory, I think there's a distinct difference with this FO, basically in looking for more upside.
My memory of NH's college pitchers (and a direct comparison is hampered by the fact that NH went more heavily for prep pitchers) is that he had a distinct template: 6'4" RHPs who threw sinkers (or were going to whether they wanted or not), had one breaking ball (if a draftee threw two, the Pirates would have him scrap one -- even did that to Shane Baz), and were absolutely by damn going to throw a change. The result was a lot of guys who made it to the upper minors and mostly topped out there.
This FO is more flexible. Some guys throw sinkers, but a lot of their lower level pitchers throw up in the zone, even guys with middling velocity. Not everybody throws a change and lots throw multiple breaking balls. Lots of cutters (used to drive me nuts that almost nobody threw that under NH) and even some splitters.
And there's definitely a focus on searching under rocks. Another TJ guy, for instance. And guys with control problems. (That doesn't necessarily work out -- see Kennedy, Tyler.) And guys whose stuff mysteriously regressed.
No idea whether any of this will work. They've had good returns from a number of guys the last couple years, but almost nobody is at Altoona yet and, imo, MiL #s from college draftees are meaningless below AA. But I like the approach better than NH's.
Nobody seems to be taking overslot guys.
Really looks to me like they should cut the draft back to 15 rounds, maybe 12. Teams can sign 8-10 NDFAs instead of 2-3.