After taking Paul Skenes with the first overall pick on Sunday night, then following up with a pitcher-heavy focus on Day 2, the Pirates stayed the course to round out the 2023 draft class.
Half of the Pirates' 10 selections on Day 3 of the 2023 MLB Draft gave the club 14 pitchers out of their 21 selection this year. However, as intentional as that might seem on the surface, the Pirates didn't necessarily go into the draft with a pitcher-heavy mindset.
"I think the easy answer is that's the way it shook out," said Pirates senior director of amateur scouting Joe DelliCarri. "Each selection afforded the opportunity of what was in front of us and take advantage of that opportunity. It certainly turned out that way, two-thirds of the numbers were pitchers, but nothing more than that."
Another opportunity the Pirates took advantage of was the crop of college players available, investing 19 of their 21 picks in the collegiate pool. While that can be perceived as a means to save on some bonus pool allocations for a couple over-slot candidates, the Pirates maintain it was just part of the draft process.
"At the end of the day, our goal is to come out of the draft adding as much impact to the organization as possible," said assistant general manager Steve Sanders. "In this case, we went into night one with a couple different approaches to take, from pick one all the way down to the 20th round. That’s dictated by the draft pool, the options that we have, what other teams do. Our goal is to respond and react as nimbly as possible to take advantage of what the draft presents to us. I think we did that this year. It probably looks a little different than past year and will look a little different than future years."
The Pirates' final 10 picks of the 2023 MLB Draft looked like this:
• Round 11 (No. 317): Magdiel Cotto, LHP, Kentucky
• Round 12 (No. 347): Khristian Curtis, RHP, Arizona State
• Round 13 (No. 377): Charles McAdoo, 2B, San Jose State
• Round 14 (No. 407): Garrett McMillan, RHP, Alabama
• Round 15 (No. 437): John Lopez, C, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy
• Round 16 (No. 467): Justin Miknis, C, Kent State
• Round 17 (No. 497): Daniel Cuvet, 3B, ESB Academy (FL)
• Round 18 (No. 527): Kalae Harrison, SS, NC State
• Round 19 (No. 557): Tyler Kennedy, RHP, Florida SouthWestern State College
• Round 20 (No. 587): Peyton Stumbo, RHP, Nevada
The Pirates started the day by taking their fifth pitcher from the SEC, selecting Cotto 317th overall. He didn't rank in MLB.com's Top 250, but ranked No. 267 in Baseball America's Top 500. After his fastball took a serious jump forward during his senior season in high school, he made it to campus with South Carolina in 2021, but struggled in a relief role. He transferred to Kentucky, but continued to struggle, specifically in throwing strikes.
Cotto's command spiked last summer in the Cape Cod League, throwing his 95-96 mph fastball for strikes 70% of the time while posting a 2.67 ERA over nine games and 27 innings. However, his numbers regressed when he went back to the SEC as that rate fell to 63% with Kentucky, posting a 5.50 ERA over 18 innings as a reliever.
As it is with several pitchers in this draft, his fastball is complemented by a couple of intriguing secondary pitches, including a hard-and-tight slider in the mid 80s and a mid-to-upper-80s changeup. And, as it is with several pitchers in this draft, he projects as a reliever in the pro ranks, but the Pirates are banking on his upside.
Curtis ranks No. 197 in MLB.com's Top 250 and No. 126 in Baseball America's Top 500. The stats leave a lot to be desired, posting a 7.07 ERA in 14 starts and 64 innings. But, scouts love his size (6-5, 210 pounds) and stuff.
His two strongest pitches are his fastball and changeup, though he used the latter just 10% of the time last season. His fastball sits 93-94 mph and touches 97, but lacks qualities that allow it to jump on hitters up in the zone. However, his secondary pitches complement it well, including a firm mid-to-upper 80s slider with a late bite. He also throws a cutter and has dabbled with an upper-70s over-the-top curveball.
His stuff alone could have made him a much more sought after prospect, but his performance and injury history (Tommy John prior to the 2021 season) put him further down draft boards. Nevertheless, the Pirates are intrigued with Curtis' potential.
"We're very pleased that Khristian got a chance to get on the mound this year, stay on the mound this year, show us a little bit coming out of his past health," DelliCarri said. "He did a really nice job posting. We feel strongly about tapping into even more of what he did this past year, and definitely his pitches in particular."
McAdoo was only the third position player drafted through the first 13 rounds of the draft. While he doesn't rank in MLB.com's Top 250, he ranked No. 342 on Baseball America.
After seeing inconsistent playing time as a true freshman for San Jose State in 2021, McAdoo exploded in 2022, batting .345 with 12 home runs and 63 RBIs in 56 games. He followed that up with a slash line of .325/.409/.543 and mashed 10 home runs in 2023, despite only hitting one home run through March 23. Overall, he slashed .345/.396/.572 in 133 games with San Jose State, and was named second team All-American by Collegiate Baseball in 2023.
McMillan was the sixth SEC pitcher the Pirates took in the first 14 rounds. He was drafted by the Twins in the 19th round of last year's draft, but didn't sign. He suffered a shoulder injury in the spring that kept him out for six weeks. He pitched in 10 games, posting a 4.89 ERA. He pitched 128 1/3 innings in two seasons with the Crimson Tide, starting in all but one of 26 appearances, posting a 4.49 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 119 strikeouts and 43 walks.
McMillan was not ranked in MLB.com's Top 250 or Baseball America's Top 500.
Same as McMillan, Lopez wasn't ranked on either publication, but is committed to Bethune-Cookman University. At 5-8 and 165 pounds, Lopez has solid arm strength and recorded a 1.83-second pop time, the best at the Perfect Game showcase. He has a middle-of-the-field approach with some projectable power to the pull side.
The Pirates spent plenty of time with Lopez, and really like the player on and off the field.
"High-energy young man with some common feel for the catching position and combination, good hands behind the plate," DelliCarri said. "Loves to play, loves to catch. Good swing, contact, going to grow into some strength. Certainly a young man we’re willing to spend time on and give the opportunity to share the journey with our development staff in growing him. His parents have done a great job with him to this point foundationally and baseball-wise, in conjunction. He's a young player we like a lot at the catching position."
Miknis was the Pirates' second consecutive catcher selected, and like the two players previously taken, wasn't ranked on MLB.com or Baseball America. He was named to the MAC All-Defensive Team the past two seasons, and earned First Team All-MAC honors in 2023. Miknis started all 58 games for the Golden Flashes at catcher, third base and DH, slashing .318/.398/.502 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs. Behind the plate, he threw out 15 would-be base stealers.
Cuvet is the first real over-slot candidate the Pirates selected since Zander Mueth was taken on Day 1 of the draft. He was ranked No. 223 on MLB.com's Top 250 and No. 177 on Baseball America's Top 500. Baseball America gave him a 60 grade on both his power and arm, and says he could end up with 70-grade power in the future.
The right-handed slugger is physically developed with a big 6-4, 225-pound frame that has plenty of strength and has power to all fields power with top-end exit velocities that have already neared 110 mph.
"I would definitely share he has some power in this draft class, no question," DelliCarri said. "He’s going to hit the ball long and far, there’s no question about that. But even more so, liked Daniel’s personality, attitude towards the game, growth mindset, big learner. Has done a lot to get himself to this point in time. He has improved over the last year. Big growth. But, yeah, he definitely has some of the power in this draft."
Not unlike many other prep sluggers, Cuvet’s power comes with plenty of swing-and-miss tendencies, and Baseball America reports he has struggled against 92-plus mph velocity. Developing pitch recognition and strike-zone discipline will be key. He better profiles as a first baseman in the future, especially if the bat develops.
Cuvet is committed to Miami, so the Pirates will have their work cut out for them in signing him.
Harrison, a native of Hawaii, started his college career with Texas A&M before transferring to NC State prior to 2023. He started 31 games at second base and 26 at shortstop in 2023, slashing .313/.436/.426 with two home runs and 31 RBIs. He registered 15 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games.
Harrison's father, Kenny, played professional baseball in Japan, and played 18 games in the Pirates organization in 1996. However, Harrison's performance at NC State was the reason he was selected, not his lineage.
"Definitely based on what we saw at NC State," DelliCarri said. "Liked him in the middle, liked the versatility, liked the athleticism -- short, second, played all infield spots. But, not necessarily any heritage there that pushed him over the line."
Kennedy transferred to Florida SouthWestern State College from Pitt, where he pitched in 12 games a season ago, finishing with 14 strikeouts in 13 innings pitched while limiting opponents to a .222 average against him. In 2023, Kennedy started 13 of his 14 appearances, posting a 4.99 ERA and 1.52 WHIP with 59 strikeouts and 27 walks in 48 2/3 innings.
Stumbo made 19 starts over the past two seasons for the Wolfpack, but posted a 6.20 ERA with 113 strikeouts and 55 walks in 132 career innings with Nevada. He only pitched in 3 2/3 innings in 2021, posting a 2.45 ERA in two appearances.
While each of the players taken in the first 10 rounds have values assigned to their respective slot, teams can spend up to $125,000 to sign a prospect taken in rounds 11-20 without any penalty. However, any amount over $125,000 counts against the bonus pool.
Teams can spend up to 5% over their bonus pool by paying a tax. Anything more than that comes with a loss of draft picks, which has not happened since the league implemented this new system in 2012.
This year, the Pirates' pool is $16,185,700, the third-largest for any team since 2012. Most of that is tied to Skenes as the first overall pick, a slot value of $9,721,000, though there's noise he may sign for less than that value.
July 25 is the deadline to sign the players taken in this year's class.
THE PIRATES' 2023 DRAFT CLASS
• Round 1 (1st overall): Paul Skenes, RHP, LSU ($9,721,000 slot value)
• Round 2 (42nd overall): Mitch Jebb, SS, Michigan State ($2,045,900)
• Competitive Balance Round B (67th overall): Zander Mueth, RHP, Belleville Township East High School (IL) ($1,128,200)
• Round 3 (No. 73): Garret Forrester, 3B, Oregon State ($990,300)
• Round 4 (No. 104): Carlson Reed, RHP, West Virginia ($646,900)
• Round 5 (No. 140): Patrick Reilly, RHP, Vanderbilt ($455,600)
• Round 6 (No. 167): Hunter Furtado, LHP, Alabama ($351,400)
• Round 7 (No. 197): Jaden Woods, LHP, Georgia ($273,800)
• Round 8 (No. 227): Austin Strickland, RHP, Kentucky ($216,900)
• Round 9 (No. 257): Danny Carrion, RHP, University of California-Davis ($184,500)
• Round 10 (No. 287): Landon Tomkins, RHP, Louisiana Tech ($171,200)
• Round 11 (No. 317): Magdiel Cotto, LHP, Kentucky
• Round 12 (No. 347): Khristian Curtis, RHP, Arizona State
• Round 13 (No. 377): Charles McAdoo, 2B, San Jose State
• Round 14 (No. 407): Garrett McMillan, RHP, Alabama
• Round 15 (No. 437): John Lopez, C, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy
• Round 16 (No. 467): Justin Miknis, C, Kent State
• Round 17 (No. 497): Daniel Cuvet, 3B, ESB Academy (FL)
• Round 18 (No. 527): Kalae Harrison, SS, NC State
• Round 19 (No. 557): Tyler Kennedy, RHP, Florida SouthWestern State College
• Round 20 (No. 587): Peyton Stumbo, RHP, Nevada
