Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Review

by John Sickels on Jun 12, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

Continuing with the NL Central, here are the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pittsburgh Pirates Draft Review
1) Jameson Taillon, RHP, Texas HS: Best high school pitcher in the draft by far; outstanding stuff and very strong command for his age. Can't complain about this one.

2) Stetson Allie, RHP, Ohio HS: Not as refined as Taillon, but throws even harder, hitting 100 MPH. He'll need development work and won't be cheap to sign, but Pirates fans should be very happy.

3) Mel Rojas Jr, OF, Wabash Valley CC: Bloodline player with excellent raw tools including blazing speed, could have gone in the first round if he was more refined.

4) Nick Kingham, RHP, Nevada HS: Low-90s fastball, projectable, won't be cheap to get away from Oregon, but a strong upside pick in the fourth round.

5) Tyler Waldron, RHP, Oregon State University: An erratic college pitcher with a live arm but very mixed performance record. Could be good, a bust, or anything in between.

6) Jason Hursh, RHP, Texas HS: Prep right-hander with low-90s heat, erratic-but-promising breaking stuff. Oklahoma State scholarship won't be cheap to buy out.

7) Austin Kubitza, RHP, Texas HS: Another prep with low-90s heat, improving slider, and a college scholarship to Rice.

8) Dace Kime, RHP, Ohio HS: Outstanding curveball and can hit 90, overshadowed by Allie in Ohio high school ranks, but has promise. Another guy with a college commitment (Louisville) that will have to be dealt with.

9) Brandon Cumpton, RHP, Georgia Tech: Hits 90, but secondary stuff needs a lot of work and he was not consistently successful in college. Might do better against wooden bats.

10) Zach Weiss, RHP, California HS: Low-90s fastball, good curveball, and a UCLA commitment.

FOUR OTHERS OF NOTE: 13-Chris Kirsch, LHP, Pennsylvania HS; 15-Drew Maggi, SS, Arizona State; 17-Ryan Hafner, RHP, Missouri HS; 24-Justin Howard, 1B, University of New Mexico.

COMMENT: High school pitching is the obvious theme here. They got the two best power arms on the board with Taillon and Allie. Kingham, Hursch, Kubitza, Kime, Weiss, and Hafner all have very strong potential, IF they can sign them. The Pirates put a lot of money into similar guys like Zach Von Rosenberg and Colton Cain last year, and I imagine they will do the same in 2010, doing everything they can to sign these arms to above-slot bonuses. It won't be cheap, but it would add a lot of pitching to the system. Rojas provides some raw tools upside in the outfield. This is a bold draft that could pay great dividends, or blow up in their face. Any doubt that Pirates fans have about the team's financial commitment to player development should be dispelled by this class.

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Comments

I'd say the doubts have already been debunked

Any doubt that Pirates fans have about the team’s financial commitment to player development should be dispelled by this class.

There were doubts when the Pirates took Alvarez. They signed Alvarez.

There were doubts when the Pirates took Sanchez and a lot of quality pitching. The team had an excellent draft and followed the draft by signing many of the players it targeted. The Pirates also would have signed Sano if it had had the opportunity to beat the Twins offer. But it didn’t.

The Pirates now confront their “Stasburg/Harper moment.” They selected Taillon and Allie with the intent to sign both. The Pirates will sign both unless one or both of them ask for a crazy contract. The team will also sign more than a few of the good players it selected later on. When all is said and done, a $15M draft is feasible.

A draft situation akin to the above will recur next year. I only hope the Pirates have an opportunity to draft position players who can hit instead of the pitchers it has taken these past few years.

Steve Z

by steve_z on Jun 12, 2025 6:38 PM EDT reply actions

I'm glad you have an open-line into the Pirates' front office

The team will also sign more than a few of the good players it selected later on.

You may believe this, but it’s not a fact yet. Don’t forget, the kids they drafted also have a say in the matter - money is not always the major factor in the decision.

That being said, I think any Pirate fan should be ecstatic with this draft. Although, if I was a Pirate fan I’d be sitting on pins-and-needles until Aug. 17th, worrying if they can sign a large percentage of these HS kids.

"There ain’t much to being a ballplayer, if you’re a ballplayer." - Honus Wagner

by Fla-Giant on Jun 12, 2025 7:20 PM EDT reply actions

Well, I’m about 90% sure they’re going to sign at least Taillon and Allie, who constitue a successful draft by themselves. The Pirates’ stated budget was something like $11.3M, and they can ink those two for that with room to spare. The biggest question will be whether the talent at the top will prompt them to spend over their stated budget to sign a good portion of the players after the first two rounds. It would seem to be a good investment to do so, but I’m not writing the checks.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Jun 14, 2025 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions