2025 MLB Draft Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates

Heading into Draft Day, the Pittsburgh Pirates will be a team to keep a close eye on. While they currently sit at just 38-55 this season (as of July 9), the team possesses some of the best young talent in the sport, including Paul Skenes, Bubba Chandler, and Oneil Cruz, among others. Due to this, they may only be a few years away from contending if they play their cards right during this year’s draft.

However, this is a very large if. The Pirates have struggled to identify offensive talent during the Ben Cherington era, which is concerning overall. While their young starting rotation is either already thriving in the big leagues or inching closer to debuting, their offensive core is either underwhelming or still years away from arriving.

The Pirates will have the ninth-largest bonus pool this year as well as the sixth overall pick, meaning they can make some huge potential splashes. The main focus should be offense, to bring the pitching core some future run support, and both their bonus pool and first-round position will help them greatly.

In this story, let’s attempt to imagine ourselves as the general manager of the club, and take a look at some of the key strategies the Pirates couple deploy and players they could target in this year’s draft.

Key Positional Targets and Draft Strategy

As I mentioned in the introduction, the main goal for the Pittsburgh Pirates ahead of this year’s draft should be to add offensive help, prioritizing this above all else. For those of you who’ve kept up with my stories over the last few months, I’ve been critical of how the team has built its minor league offensive core, and this needs to change this year for them to succeed moving forward.

As of Aram Leighton’s last update to our Pirates Top 15 Prospects list, there were just six hitters on the list. For a team hoping to turn its offense around, this is very concerning, to say the least.

Of those six hitters, four are primarily used as infielders, while the other two play both the infield and outfield. The Pirates have struggled to put together a complete outfield, as they’ve tried time and time again to fill the right field spot on the team with a solid big leaguer. Nearly all of their efforts have fallen short, as they’re still searching for this answer currently.

Due to this, the Pirates shouldn’t only target offensive pieces in general, but they should make it a key point to target some outfield prospects in the process. We may also see the Bucs draft more college prospects on top of this in an effort to help the offense as soon as possible.

While it’s still too early to tell how the Spencer Horwitz situation is going to play out at first base, it’s also important to note that the club doesn’t currently have a first baseman of the future. We could see this become a key target for them this year as well, just in case Horwitz isn’t the answer they’re hoping for.

Another reason the Pirates may look towards college prospects after the first few rounds is that, historically, this has been an area where teams can save some money. While NIL money will now keep these savings from being too egregious, these savings will still be important.

The Pirates’ first two selections also have a high chance of being prep players, which usually results in over-slot signings. If they spend heavily on prep players early, this could be yet another reason to save money later in the draft by going the college route.

When it comes down to it, though, the Pirates should draft the top offensive player available in their eyes, worrying about position and age secondly. If they do this, we could see them find a true hidden gem.

There are plenty of good arms available in this year’s draft as well, meaning there are a few instances where it could make sense for the Pirates to draft some pitching help. This is a fine way to approach things, as most organizations operate by selecting the top player available regardless of position.

Pitching will always be a hot commodity, as it feels like you can never have enough arms in today’s MLB. The Pirates could always take some arms and use them as trade bait in the future, although this is a conversation for much further down the line.

Ideal Early Draft Picks

Now that we’ve established the positional targets and strategies the Pirates could use in this year’s draft, we can finally take a look at some players who make sense with each of these picks.

Although we’re just days away from the draft, it’s still very unclear how the draft will play out, meaning all of these picks could either be slam dunks or incredibly wrong. Either way, let’s dive into some candidates.

First Round: Billy Carlson, SS, Corona High School

Tyler Jennings and Conor Dorney have the Pirates selecting shortstop Billy Carlson sixth overall in the most recent edition of the Just Baseball Mock Draft, and this pick makes a ton of sense. Despite their need for an instant impact player, the Pirates have been tied to prep players early in the draft throughout the entire cycle, with Carlson being the primary target.

The Pirates also found a new level of confidence in how they approach prep players with the success of Konnor Griffin last season, which could give them the faith to try their luck again. With Carlson being one of the toolsiest players in the class, they could strike gold with back-to-back first-round prep players.

Carlson’s strong commitment to Tennessee and the fact that the Pirates have paid their last two first-round prep players over-slot bonuses indicates he’ll cost a decent amount. If he goes over slot, the Pirates could be looking at a potential signing bonus of over $7.6 million for Carlson.

Second Round: Korbyn Dickerson, OF, Indiana

While the sixth overall pick could potentially do wonders for the Pirates in this year’s draft, they won’t select again until the 50th overall pick. With this pick, I could see the Pirates taking one of the biggest breakouts in this year’s college season, Korbyn Dickerson.

After breaking out during this year’s season at Indiana, Dickerson has seen himself fly up every draft board across the nation. Dickerson has routinely been hailed as one of the most underrated prospects in this year’s class, making him incredibly intriguing overall.

He’s been projected to go anywhere from late in the first round to competitive balance round B, making him more of a toss-up. If he’s not available, the Pirates could opt to go the prep route once again with someone like Brady Ebel. However, if he’s still on the board here, Dickerson would be a phenomenal pick for the Pirates.

Competitive Balance Round B: Brandon Compton, OF, Arizona State

Given the chaotic nature of this year’s draft, the stretch between the end of the first round and the beginning of the third round has the potential to be pretty unpredictable. There’s a chance we see some decently heavy fallers in this range as teams favor prep talent early in the draft. If we do, Brandon Compton would be an amazing fit for the Pirates with their third pick.

After finishing his last season at Arizona State strongly, Compton went and posted unreal numbers at the MLB Draft Combine at Chase Field. During his rounds of batting practice, Compton blasted 12 balls over 112 mph, with many of these balls traveling 400 or more feet.

Compton is currently our 47th-ranked draft prospect, meaning this may be a reach for him to make it to the Pirates’ pick here at number 73 overall. If not, you may see them draft another college prospect, such as our number 77 draft prospect Kyle Lodise.

However, if he does, he checks all of the boxes for what they should be looking for in this year’s draft.

Third Round: RJ Austin, UTIL, Vanderbilt

Coming out of high school, RJ Austin was one of the more toolsy shortstops in the entire 2022 MLB Draft. Instead of immediately going the professional route, he honored his commitment at Vanderbilt, where he had a very solid collegiate career overall.

To put it simply, Austin is an athlete, and this shines through when watching him play for Vanderbilt. He was able to play all across the diamond, from the corner infield to the outfield, and he shone everywhere he played. Austin will likely stick in center field, using his raw athleticism to help him along the way.

Austin could be one of the sneakier bats in this stage of the draft as well, as he was once considered one of the better early second-round prospects. He currently sits at number 98 on our top 300, making this an under-slot pick at pick 82. However, he certainly has the tools to make it worthwhile.

Fourth Round: Jared Jones, OF/1B, LSU

When searching for an elite power tool in this year’s draft, you don’t have to search further than LSU first baseman and outfielder Jared Jones. Jones had the chance to enter the draft last year, instead returning to college for LSU’s second National Championship in the last three seasons.

Jones was known for the tape measure shots he hit throughout his college career, as he regularly sent balls over the batter’s eye in Baton Rouge. He also fits both positional needs for the club, while also checking the other key boxes we established earlier as well.

Jones fits perfectly into the Pirates’ fourth-round range, as we currently have him ranked 114 on our top 300, and the Pirates’ fourth-round pick is 113th overall. Jones would not only solve two positional needs, but he could extend the club’s roots in Baton Rouge even deeper than they already are.

Fifth Round: Nolan Schubart, OF, Oklahoma State

Once projected to be selected in the early rounds of this year’s MLB Draft, Nolan Schubart now finds himself nearing fifth-round range. Still, the Oklahoma State outfielder brings plenty of potential to the table, and he’d help the Pirates address multiple needs in the process.

While the Pirates are searching for a significant outfield prospect, it would be wise for them to add some serious pop as well. Schubart brings some electric power, as well as the potential to be one of the steals of the draft, given his former pedigree as one of the top collegiate prospects in the class.

Schubart, currently ranked 153 overall on our board, would add to the crop of really solid outfield prospects the Pirates could walk away with at the end of this year’s draft if things play out in this manner. While he has some hit tool concerns, he’s worth taking a chance on at pick 144 overall.

Final Thoughts

While the Pirates have a lot of issues they need to address during this year’s draft, the pieces to solve these problems are right in front of them. Their picks in later rounds should be surrounded by collegiate outfield help, which is exactly what they should be searching for at this stage.

This year’s draft also allows for some winning to be done beyond the fifth round, with plenty of solid prospects available. For the team to be successful in this range, they should still prioritize offense, looking for the top bats on the board with each of their picks later in the draft.

If the Pirates want any chance at contending in the Skenes era, they need to finally put the offense first. If they play their cards right, they could put together a legitimate group of prospects who could help the rotation extremely soon, even if they aren’t able to select the players suggested in this story.