Kumar Rocker, come on down.
While the order in this upcoming amateur draft was expected to be based on each team's record, there was no guarantee since commissioner Rob Manfred held the power to potentially change it, as per the March agreement between owners and players.
That was until Monday, when Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reported Manfred would not change the order beyond going by the reverse records. Jeff Passan of ESPN had previously reported that it was the expectation, though he did not have formal confirmation.
Ben Cherington said recently that the Pirates "don't have any reason to believe that it wouldn't be based on reverse order of record."
So it turns out the Pirates did not endure the worst record in baseball this season for nothing. They'll pick first in the upcoming draft, which will be held during the All-Star break in July rather than June. It will be the first time the Pirates have picked first overall since they took Gerrit Cole in 2011.
The projected top pick is Rocker, a hard-throwing Vanderbilt righty with a wipeout slider, but his teammate, right-hander Jack Leiter, could also be in the conversation, depending on how he progresses next year after wowing in a handful of starts as a freshman in the shortened 2020 season.