The Pirates currently have four of their last eight first round picks on their major league roster, with another two in the top 50 prospects in baseball. Andrew McCutchen ''05 and Neil Walker '04 have both proven to be solid major league players and will continue to be for years to come. Pedro Alvarez '08 has been the most talked about Pirate for the last year or so and has finally begun to show why.
The ceiling is endless for Alvarez and time will only tell how good he can be. Brad Lincoln '06 struggled early in his career but has come on as of late in long relief for the Buccos. Jameson Taillon '10 and 1st overall pick Gerrit Cole '11 are a lock in most top 10 prospect lists. However both young pitchers are a few years away from making the big league roster. Daniel Moskos '07 and Tony Sanchez '09, both fourth overall selections, may still be very productive major league players, but neither is projected for stardom at the major league level.
After watching the game Saturday against Cincinnati featuring Mike Leake, the 8th overall selection in 2009 draft ( four after Tony Sanchez ) I began to take a look back and create a what if of Pirate draft picks since 2004. Using only first round picks, here's a look at a few players that could be Pirates today.
2004- Pirate Pick- Neil Walker 12th Overall.... Jered Weaver and Billy Butler are the only noteworthy names drafted after Walker in the first round. Walker is solid but Jered Weaver may have been the better pick.
2005- Pirate Pick- Andrew McCutchen 10th Overall.... One of the deeper first rounds in the last decade, only Jacoby Ellsbury and Jay Bruce were selected after Cutch that could make a bigger impact. While Ellsbury has been more effective than Andrew so far, I believe Cutch will be a perennial All Star.
2006- Pirate Pick- Brad Lincoln 4th Overall.... This one is hard to swallow. After selected Lincoln at fourth overall, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum, Drew Stubbs and Ian Kennedy were all selected later in the first round. Let's just skip trying to explain that one.
2007 -Pirate Pick- Daniel Moskos 4th Overall.... If you follow the Pirates, every one remembers this draft for one reason. Matt Wieters. The Pirates skipped over the sure thing catching prospect to save money and select Moskos at 4th overall. Wieters has been very productive in his young career so far and come on, Rob Barajas is our starting catcher. A major Pirate Blunder. (Jason Heyward also went later in the 1st round)
2008 -Pirate Pick- Pedro Alvarez 2nd Overall.... The Pirates finally shut the critics up and opened the pocketbooks for Alvarez in 2008. After a solid rookie season, Alvarez was horrid last season en route to a 4 HR, 17 RBI season. After a slow start in 2012, Pirates media and fans (most of them) were outraged Alvarez was even in the lineup. Now he has bursted onto the scene and once again ignited Pirate Nation (what's left of it). Buster Posey and Eric Hosmer are 2 big names selected after Alvarez that year, but the potential in Alvarez is unlimited.
2009 -Pirate Pick- Tony Sanchez 4th Overall... After shocking the world and drafting a high priced guy in '08, the Pirates went back to their old ways and selected an affordable guy who was much lower on most draft boards than 4th overall. Pitchers Mike Minor, Mike Leake, Drew Storen and Aaron Crow were all selected after Sanchez and would be great additions to the Pirate staff if they had selected them. Another Pirate Blunder.
2010- Pirate Pick Jameson Taillon 2nd Overall.... Bryce Harper was selected number one that draft and the only impact player in the majors thus far. Taillon is currently number 7 on the mlb.com prospect list and has a bright future in the Pirate rotation. Too early to tell if the Pirates made the right pick.
2011- Pirate Pick Gerrit Cole 1st Overall..... The Pirates once again opened the pocketbooks and selected the consensus number 1 for the 2011 draft. Cole, who is currently no. 10 on the mlb.com prospect list, is another high ceiling guy who could have a bright future in the Pirate rotation.
While it's nice to wish we had Clayton Kershaw or Matt Wieters on the roster, I feel the Pirates have drafted rather successfully in the past eight years and are finally starting to build some hope for the future. It is safe to say the team is finally making steps in the right direction, and only time will tell how good they can be.
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