The 2020 Major League Baseball Draft is less than a week away, beginning Wednesday, June 10, at 7 p.m.
While the MLB Draft may not bring the national spotlight quite like its NFL counterpart, there's plenty of intrigue, particularly for the Pirates, as we head into the 2020 edition of the annual event.
The Pirates and new general manager Ben Cherington hold the No. 7 and No. 31 overall picks on Day 1 of the draft, and where they could go with those picks is anybody's guess. Naturally, that top-10, seventh-overall pick has received the majority of focus in the lead-up to the June 10 showcase.
At that position, experts have predicted everybody from left-handed Louisville pitcher Reid Detmers to right-handed Georgia slinger Emerson Hancock. Left-handed, power-hitting outfielder Heston Kjerstad's been linked to the Pirates frequently, too.
Recently, I dug into the skill set of shortstop/second-base prospect Nick Gonzales, concluding he'd be a dream pick for the Pirates at No. 7 if he's still on the board. The general consensus is that Gonzales — who slashed a ridiculous .399/.502/.747 with 37 home runs and 152 RBIs throughout his three-year career at New Mexico State — will not fall past No. 7 on draft night.
Apparently, Baseball America agrees.
In their latest mock draft, Baseball America has the Pirates looking Gonzales' way — but the journey to that pick is interesting.
Spencer Torkelson — a first-base prospect whose most common pro comparison is Kris Bryant — is the unanimous No. 1 overall pick to the Tigers in every mock draft I've seen for 2020. That seems to be a lock.
And before today, Vanderbilt outfielder Austin Martin's gone second to the Orioles. Baseball America, however, has the Orioles shaking things up and taking high-school outfielder Zac Veen, who has drawn comparisons to — get ready for this — Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich.
No pressure, young man.
Whether that actually occurs is anybody's guess, but the shift caused some commotion in the Top 10, which allowed Gonzales to begin to slip. With the Orioles taking Veen at No. 2, the Royals, at No. 4, then selected Martin. Sandwiched between are the Marlins at No. 3, taking left-handed pitcher Asa Lacy as they have in nearly every mock to this point.
The Pirates' plans potentially take a hit at five and six, though, when both Hancock (No. 5) and Minnesota fire-breather Max Meyer (No. 6) fly off the board.
In a recent bit of analysis I conducted to examine Hancock vs. Detmers vs. Meyer, I left feeling Meyer has the highest upside of the trio and thus should be the Pirates' pick if he's there and if they want a pitcher at No. 7.
He wasn't there, but Gonzales was, making the decision that much easier.
Rounding out the Top 10 of Baseball America's latest mock is another surprise: Nick Bitsko going at No. 8, one pick after the Pirates, to the Padres. Bitsko is a right-handed high-school pitcher who has been called the best prospect since Mike Trout to emerge from the Philadelphia/New Jersey region. He's 17 years old and throws 98.5 MPH — on video.
I wouldn't fully count out Bitsko to the Pirates, even, as his stuff just looks that electric. Seeing him climb to No. 8 further reinforces the notion that we could see one of the top two high-school arms — Bitsko and Mick Abel — go earlier than anticipated.
Detmers, then, went No. 9 to the Rockies, and Kjerstad went No. 10 to the Angels in Baseball America's mock.
So what will the Pirates actually do on draft night?
“The simple, boring answer is 'best player available,'” Cherington said during a recent Zoom video conference with local reporters. “If we’re doing the job the way we want to do it, then the way we rank players would effectively consider both the upside and the risk.”
Clear as mud.
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