Pirates may lean toward direct Major League help in the draft
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Pirates may lean toward direct Major League help in the draft originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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The Pittsburgh Pirates have been a team that has made the most of their first-round picks over the years. They took Paul Skenes first overall in 2023, and we all know just how good he is doing in the big leagues.
They also took Konnor Griffin with the ninth overall pick in 2024, and he is already making a name for himself. Last year, they selected RHP Seth Hernandez sixth overall, and he is living up to that high draft pick this year in the minors.
This year, they have been awarded the fifth overall pick, and there will be tons of talent to take here. The question is, what does the front office value the most?
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Pirates may lean toward direct Major League help in the draft
With the fifth overall pick, some of the bigger names will be gone, but there will certainly be elite talent to choose from here. There will be a mix of prep talent and college talent to decide on.
The team's last two first-round draft picks were prep talent, so many believe that could be the case again here. However, ESPN's Kiley McDaniel sees the team going a different direction, drafting UC Santa Barbara RHP Jackson Flora.
"I think the Pirates are leaning toward Flora of this group as they would like to help the big league team soon all things being equal, and they just hit the jackpot on a hit-tool-question high school player in Konnor Griffin, so it might come up snake eyes if they try again."
McDaniel views Flora as someone who could beeline it to the big league rotation. And there have been numerous college pitchers who went straight to the big leagues, like Garrett Crochet.
Flora has a live arm that can touch the triple digits with two sliders and a solid changeup, who commands the zone with all pitches. If the Pirates don't take him here, he will be sure to be snatched up rather quickly by another team.