Pirates do not have great track record with No. 1 overall pick

The 2023 MLB Draft kicks off on Sunday night and the Pittsburgh Pirates will be selecting No. 1 overall for the sixth time in franchise history.

The Pirates are not leaking anything about their potential pick, but LSU teammates Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes are regarded as the top two prospects, while Florida's Wyatt Langford and high school outfielder Max Clark are also in the discussion.

Picking first overall is an opportunity to land a franchise-changing player, but the Pirates have not really had the best luck with that pick in their history. Those previous five picks have either come in years without a clear-cut top prospect, or resulted in them making a selection based on money.

The results have not always been great. Let's take a quick rundown of those past picks.

2021: Henry Davis

The 2021 class was one of those years where there was no consensus top pick and the Pirates opted to take Davis and spend the bulk of their draft money in later rounds. 

Davis has already reached the majors and is off to a promising start, but there is some question as to whether or not he is going to be a catcher or right fielder. The jury is still very much out on this pick.

2011: Gerrit Cole

Cole has become one of the best starting pitchers in baseball, but it was not until after he left Pittsburgh that his career took off. 

He had one truly dominant season in Pittsburgh (2015) but never realized his full potential as the Pirates tried to make him more of a pitch-to-contact pitcher instead of allowing him to try and blow hitters away. He was good in Pittsburgh, but never consistently great. Immediately after his trade to Houston he became a force and has remained one with the Yankees.

2002: Bryan Bullington

Simply a disaster of a pick the moment it was announced. Then-general manager Dave Littlefield said the team expected Bullington to be "a good No. 3 starter," which is not exactly what you hope for from a No. 1 overall pick.

Some of the players taken after Bullington in 2002 include B.J. Upton, Prince Fielder, Zack Greinke, Nick Swisher and Cole Hamels. 

Bullington appeared in just 26 Major League games in his career, and only six with the Pirates. 

1996: Kris Benson

After a standout career at Clemson, the Pirates made Benson the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft and were hoping he could anchor their starting rotation for the next decade. 

He had a quick rise through the minors and had two very promising years to open his career in 1999 and 2000 before missing all of the 2001 season due to Tommy John Surgery. 

He was never the same after that and bounced around the league as a mid-level starter for the next decade. This was the case of taking the right prospect, but injuries dramatically changing their career. 

1986: Jeff King

King spent 11 years in the major leagues, playing more than 1,200 games with the Pirates and Kansas City Royals. But it was a very ordinary career and nothing that stands out as a top pick.

It wasn't until the 1996 season (when he was 31 years old) that King had a true breakout season, hitting 30 home runs and driving in over 100 runs. It was the only 30 home run season of his career and one of only a handful of above average seasons he ever had at the plate. 

Prior to that he was mostly a role player that never settled into an everyday spot.

Matt Williams, Kevin Brown and Gary Sheffield were just a few of the players taken within the top-10 of the 1986 draft class after him.