The Major League Baseball amateur draft is just days away, and with the transaction freeze because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a chance it will be general manager Ben Cherington's only chance to add impact talent into the farm system. If nothing else, June 10-11 will be a chance for him to differentiate himself from the previous GM, Neal Huntington.
Huntington tried to build the Pirates through the draft, and while they did find some All-Stars and solid contributors, his history is very mixed. He had some unquestionably good drafts, but there were almost as many bad ones.
If you don't know where I'm going with this, read the headline again.
Huntington was the Pirates' GM for a dozen drafts, but those first two were a product of a different era where teams did not have caps on draft spending. 2010 and 2011 didn't have a cap either, but it was clear one was on the horizon and it influenced how teams approached those years. Let's take a look at those years, too. Besides, "Ranking the Pirates' last eight drafts" just doesn't have the same ring to it.
With that out of the way, here is where the Pirates' last 10 drafts rank, from worst to best:
10. 2012
First round pick: RHP Mark Appel (did not sign); Best pick: C Jacob Stallings, seventh round.
I have already written about the 2012 draft once, so I will keep this short.
Appel was expected to be the first overall pick in the draft, but fell to the Pirates at No. 8. The club drafted but failed to sign him, and it more or less scared them away from college pitchers for years to come.
The Pirates knew they had to put a lot of eggs in the Appel basket, so they selected multiple players who would sign very cheap. Fortunately for them, one of them really worked out: Stallings. He appeared to be just an organizational depth catcher, but he is now lined up as the starting catcher now because of his elite defense and ability to manage the pitching staff. A lot of that work on defense was done with bullpen catcher Jordan Comadena, who helped develop a program for pitch framing. Every catcher in spring training did that this year, so those two are actively making the who team better.
They also drafted Adrian Sampson in the fifth round. He did not accomplish much in the majors, but he was the player the Pirates sent to Seattle in 2015 for J.A. Happ.
But besides those two, the Pirates got little value from this draft. Max Moroff and Josh Smith are the only other two players who signed out of the draft who reached the majors, and both are just replacement level guys. I specify "signed" because they did draft Walker Buehler in the 14th round and had money to spend, but he ultimately went to college. One last kick in the ribs from a doomed draft.
9. 2018
First round picks: OF Travis Swaggerty, RHP Gunnar Hoglund (did not sign); Best pick: Swaggerty, first round.
Perhaps it is too soon to judge this draft so harshly, especially since nobody has come close to reaching the majors yet. However, it has been just two years since this draft, and only a few picks are still considered prospects.
Swaggerty was a bit of a reach at 10th overall, but on draft day, it looked like they would be able to sign him for significantly less than his slot bonus, meaning they could allocate pool money elsewhere. Swaggerty did sign for $160,000 less than his slot dictated, but the savings were not as much as originally believed. They failed to sign their other first rounder, Hoglund.
The Pirates took two large gambles in this draft, giving big money to prep pitchers Braxton Ashcraft and Michael Burrows. Ashcraft, the second round pick, signed for $442,600 overslot, and Burrows, their 11th rounder, signed for $375,000 overslot. Burrows is a "spin rate monster," but unless he can develop a third pitch, he may be destined for the bullpen. Ashcraft was hit hard with the class-A Black Bears last year, with his fastball sitting in the low-90s. He is still considered a projectable arm and has two potential plus breaking pitches, but his professional career has gotten off to a rocky start.
Other players of note are outfielder Jack Herman, a 30th-round pick who is now near the bottom of top 30 prospect lists, and right-handed pitcher Nick Mears, even though he signed as an undrafted free agent.
This is not a particularly deep draft, and it does not appear there is much upside either. Swaggerty looks like a safe bet as a future Major-Leaguer, but there are a lot of questions with this group.
8. 2010
First round pick: RHP Jameson Taillon; Best pick: Taillon, first round.
10 years ago, this looked like a really good haul. Taillon was considered to be the best pitching prospect available in a truly stacked draft. Take a look at some of those names who went in that first round in Hunter Homistek's retrospective.
But it went beyond Taillon. Stetson Allie was considered a first round talent who fell to the second. They would end up drafting three more pitchers with once-promising futures: Nick Kingham, Brandon Cumpton and Casey Sadler. At one point, it looked like half of the future rotation was going to come from this draft.
That didn't happen. Cumpton and Sadler were injury prone throughout their time with the Pirates and have bounced around the league. Allie quickly burned out as a pitcher and turned into a position player. While he hit well for a bit, he never advanced past AA Altoona. Kingham never regained his fastball velocity after his Tommy John surgery and was released last year. He is now pitching in the South Korean Baseball Organization.
As for Taillon, he has been great when healthy, but two Tommy Johns, a sports hernia and a cancer scare have kept him off the field. It's not entirely his fault, but as Homistek wrote, the Pirates would have been better off taking someone else from this stacked draft.
Still, getting a front of the rotation starter isn't exactly a bad haul from a draft, but it could have been much more.
7. 2016
First round picks: INF Will Craig, LHP Nick Lodolo (did not sign); Best pick: RHP Blake Cederlind, fifth round.
Only one player from this draft -- 29th-round pick Geoff Hartlieb -- has made the majors so far, but there are more on the way, including a couple already on the 40-man roster. However, it doesn't look like there is a real blue-chipper in the group. Going by Baseball America's top 30 list, the current highest ranking prospect from this draft is Max Kranick at No. 23, and he has yet to reach Altoona.
The other two top 30 prospects are Craig and Cederlind. Craig is currently a man without a position, stuck behind Josh Bell and Gregory Polanco on the depth chart. He won a minor-league gold glove at first base last year, so there may be a case for him to take over the position and move Bell to designated hitter, assuming the National League adopts it. Cederlind turned heads this spring (yes, including mine), pumping out 100 mph sinkers and cutters with bite. He is still a little raw, but he is primed for a bullpen spot soon.
Third-round pick Stephen Alemais missed almost all of last season due to shoulder surgery, but he is one of the very best middle infield defensive prospects in the minors. He should reach the majors at some point. Hunter Owen was the Curve's best hitter last year and could be third base and outfield depth. While he struggled in the majors in 2019, partially due to a right foot injury, Hartlieb rose quickly through the organization and will get other shots.
This draft doesn't have that big player, but it almost did. The Pirates drafted Lodolo with their second first-round pick, but failed to sign him. The Reds ended up selecting him with the eighth overall pick last year, and now he is a universal top 100 prospect.
Had the Pirates signed Lodolo, this could have been one of Huntington's best drafts, boasting good depth with a top of the line lefty to headline the group. Instead, it is looking rather pedestrian.
6. 2017
First round pick: RHP Shane Baz; Best pick: RHP Cody Bolton, sixth round.
This is a draft filled with boom or bust prospects who aren't quite Major-League ready. In a few years, we may be saying this is one of the best drafts Huntington ever had, or it could be one of his worst.
It certainly doesn't help that they will be without their first-round pick, Baz, who was the third player who went to the Rays in the Chris Archer trade. That won't negatively impact this draft grade, though.
The Pirates do not have much high-end pitching depth in their farm system, but Bolton is often regarded as the team's second best, after Mitch Keller. He was flat out dominant in Bradenton before getting roughed up in Altoona last year, but he looks primed for a breakout. Second round pick Cal Mitchell could be a plus-prospect in the outfield.
Jared Oliva was an All-Star in the Arizona Fall League last year and got his first spring training invite this year. Out of the prospects from this draft, he seems to have the highest floor. He needs another year in the minors, but he looks like a potential fit in center field. Blake Weiman may not be the hardest throwing reliever in the system, but he has good control and a plus breaking pitch.
But the real wild card is 17th-round pick Mason Martin. Martin finally started to tap into his elite raw power last year, clubbing 35 home runs between A and high-A. According to FanGraphs, his average exit velocity was 91 mph. That would have been close to the top 10-percent of Major-League hitters last year, and they were using a juiced ball. There may be some concerns with his glove, but if he hits 30-something homers again in 2021, he will catapult himself up the top prospects chart.
There are three or four players who could be real contributors for the Pirates in the future, but the bust potential is real. Come back in two or three years to see how this draft turned out.
5. 2019
First round pick: RHP Quinn Preister, OF Sammy Siani; Best pick: Presiter.
Speaking of it being too early to properly grade a draft, let's take a look at last year's group.
Both Preister and Siani were drafted out of high school, so there isn't much to say about them since they only have appeared in a handful of games as professionals. Presiter does look to be a fringe top-100 prospect and may crack the list if the season gets underway and a couple of younger players shed their rookie status.
This was also an extremely rare case of the Pirates actually investing some high picks and money into college pitchers. Fourth- and fifth-round picks J.C. Flowers and Grant Ford both signed overslot, becoming just the fourth and fifth college pitchers Huntington gave more money than expected to.
It still probably would have been too early to judge this draft had there been a minor-league season this year. For now, it's in the middle of the pack, but that will likely change.
4. 2015
First round picks: SS Kevin Newman, 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes; Best pick: Newman.
This was a top heavy draft, with the Pirates going 2-for-2 with their first rounders. Newman was one of the best rookies in baseball a year ago, and Hayes is one of the top infield prospects now. They could be half of the Pirates' infield for years to come.
Second-round pick Kevin Kramer has not done much in the majors yet, but he has hit very well in the minors and become versatile in the field. The 2018 and 2019 minor-league pitchers of the year, JT Brubaker and James Marvel, came from this draft, and Marvel was a late steal, being picked in the 36th round.
After that though, there isn't much. Tanner Anderson reached the majors, as did Justin Bormann, even if it was just for one plate appearance. 40th-round pick Daniel Zamora was traded to the Mets for Josh Smoker, and while Zamora hasn't looked like anything special in the majors, it seems safe to say the Mets got the better end of that deal.
Even though there isn't a lot to write about here, this is still a good draft because the Pirates found their left side of the infield this year. If Brubaker or Marvel pan out to be Major-League starters, then this might even go up another notch, but by this point, we usually know who is a legitimate prospect or not.
3. 2014
First round pick: SS Cole Tucker, OF/C Connor Joe; Best pick: RHP Mitch Keller, second round.
For the first time in 20 years, the Pirates didn't get to pick until near the end of the first round since they had one of the better records in baseball. To compensate, they had two compentitve balance picks: One in the second-round that was gifted to them, and one in the first, which they acquired from the Marlins for reliever Bryan Morris. Years later, it looks like their first five picks will at least reach the majors.
Tucker and Keller don't require any introduction. Both got their first taste of the majors in 2019, and the franchise has a lot riding on them going forward.
The next three picks were eventually dealt. Joe was sent to the Braves for Sean Rodriguez in 2017. Third-round selection Jordan Luplow went to the Indians as part of the Erik Gonzalez deal. Second-round pick Trey Supak was sent to the Brewers for Jason Rogers, and while he has not yet reached the majors, he is on the Brewers' 40-man roster.
Alex McRae and Montana DuRapau were selected in the later rounds and provided some innings of relief, but both have been removed from the roster. The Pirates also took a gamble on Paul DeJong in the 38th round, but there was no chance he would sign out of high school.
2014 would be the first of three straight seasons where the Pirates had to wait until the later part of the order to pick. While they did well in 2015, this class was just a hair better.
2. 2013
First round pick: OF Austin Meadows, C Reese McGuire; Best pick: INF Adam Frazier, sixth round.
The Pirates were gifted an extra first-round pick in the 2013 draft after failing to sign Appel the year prior. That pick turned into Meadows, which ended up being a lot better of a selection in the long run. McGuire has never really hit well -- his brief sampling in the majors notwithstanding -- but he is regarded as one of the best young defensive catchers in baseball. He will be at least a solid backup for years to come.
Of course, it doesn't help that Meadows and McGuire were both dealt in two of Huntington's most controversial trades: The Archer deal in 2018 and the Francisco Liriano salary dump in 2016. What good are quality draft picks when they barely help the Major-League club?
The Pirates did find a couple future contributors out of the collegiate ranks in the following rounds. Frazier has been streaky at the plate throughout his career, but he has averaged out to be a good player and was nominated for a gold glove last year. Chad Kuhl was selected in the ninth-round and has shown dynamic stuff. It's just a control question with him.
Future Major-Leaguers Jacoby Jones and Shane Carle were selected in the third and 10th rounds, respectively. Jones was traded for Joakim Soria in 2015, and Carle was shipped to the Rockies for Rob Scahill.
Meadows was one of the best players Huntington selected, and there was good depth in this class. Depending on what you think of McGuire, this is either a very good or excellent draft class.
1. 2011
First round pick: Gerrit Cole; Best pick(s): Cole; Josh Bell, 2nd round; Tyler Glasnow, 5th round.
From 2008-2010, no team spent more on the draft than the Pirates. 2011 was the last year before draft bonuses were capped, and the Pirates went out with a bang, shelling out $17 million, which is still a record nearly a decade later.
The bulk of that money went to Cole and Bell. Cole did his best pitching with the Astros, but he was still an All-Star with the Pirates. Bell enjoyed a breakout campaign and his first All-Star nod in 2019. While Glasnow never clicked with the Pirates, the Rays figured out how to get him to reach his potential.
Three other future Major-Leaguers were drafted and signed this year: Clay Holmes, Alex Dickerson and Colten Brewer.
This is the best draft of the Huntington era because this is the one that has already produced All-Stars. This group may add a couple Cy Youngs and silver sluggers before it's all said and done. Some of these players did their best work away from Pittsburgh, but as a draft class, this is terrific.

Pirates 2019 first-round draft pick Quinn Priester. -- MATT SUNDAY / DKPS
Pirates
All-Stars and busts: Pirates' last 10 drafts
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