MLB Draft Day 2: Pirates take another prep shortstop, load up on college pitchers
A look at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ picks on the second day of the MLB Draft:
• With their first choice, at No. 83 overall in the third round, the Pirates selected left-handed pitcher Josh Hartle of Wake Forest. The 6-foot-5, 210-pounder was an All-American as a sophomore, when he went 11-2 with a 2.81 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 102 1/3 innings and was considered one of the top pitching prospects before taking a step backward this past season. Hartle, whose four-pitch mix features a low-90s fastball, slider, cutter and changeup, went 6-3 with a 5.79 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 74 2/3 innings over 15 starts, striking out 81 with 25 walks.
“He’s interesting,” MLB Pipeline draft analyst Jim Callis said on the MLB.com livestream. “Great feel for four pitches. This year that feel wasn’t there. His stuff is kind of average-ish. … I think if you get him mixing in the fastball and changeup better, you can get him back to where he was coming in.”
• In the fourth round (No. 112), the Pirates took another high school shortstop in Eddie Rynders of Wisconsin Lutheran High School. The 6-2, 195-pound Rynders, ranked the No. 229 prospect by MLB.com, used a solid showing at the Super 60 Pro Showcase to move up in the draft.
“I think the thing that stands out the most with him is the projectable power,” Callis said. “He’s 6-foot-2, he’s going to get stronger, shows willingness to use the whole field, shows some hitting ability there, too. Swings easy — it can get long at times. An average runner, he’s probably more of a third baseman. You want him to get more physical to tap into that power. … If he has the power people think, he can be an average third baseman but he’ll be in your lineup because he’s hitting 25 homers if he reaches the projection you hope.”
• In the fifth round (No. 145), the Pirates selected outfielder Will Taylor of Clemson, who bypassed first-round money in 2021 to be a two-sport star for the Tigers. A slot receiver, Taylor suffered a torn ACL in his right knee as a freshman that robbed him of some of his speed. After batting .362/.489/.523 as a sophomore, Taylor slipped to .230/.465/.480 this past season before a broken left wrist ended his season in mid-April.
“He could’ve had first-round money, really wanted to play football and injured his knee,” Callis said. “Guys still love the makeup. It’s some of the best makeup in this draft. Coming out of high school, it was plus-plus speed. Now he’s more of an average runner. He didn’t have great numbers. But it’s interesting. In the fifth round, I’ll take a gamble like this. He shows hitting ability. He needs to get stronger — the power hasn’t come — but maybe he’ll get some of the speed back. And you know you’re going to get his arm. This guy was an all-state championship wrestler. Tremendous makeup.”
• In the sixth round (No. 174), the Pirates chose UC-Santa Barbara right-handed pitcher Matt Ager, whose father, Jeff, is a Penn-Trafford graduate. The 6-6, 225-pounder was ranked the No. 135 prospect by MLB Pipeline after going 5-4 with a 3.12 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 112 strikeouts in 92 1/3 innings over 15 starts as a sophomore but slipped following his struggles tihs past season, when he went 3-4 with a 4.02 ERA and 1.39 WHIP and 59 strikeouts against 28 walks in 62 2/3 innings over 24 appearances (nine starts).
“I was excited about him but he lost his rotation spot and ended up in the bullpen,” MLB Pipeline draft analyst Jonathan Mayo said. “I don’t know what he is, but he’ll flash four pitches at his best. The fastball is largely average. The slider is probably the best secondary.”
• In the seventh round (No. 204), the Pirates took left-hander Connor Wietgrefe of Minnesota. The 6-2, 210-pounder led the Gophers and was second in the Big Ten with a 2.77 ERA and had 74 strikeouts in 78 innings over 15 appearances (13 starts). Callis projects Wietgrefe, who throws a sweeping slider from a sidearm slot, to be a reliever.
• In the eighth round (No. 234), the Pirates chose right-hander Gavin Adams of Florida State. The 6-4, 195-pounder has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s but touches 99 mph and averaged 15 strikeouts per nine innings in compiling a 3.76 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in 26 1/3 innings over 13 appearances (two starts) at Indian River State College in 2023. Adams was selected with the first pick of the third day of the draft last year, going in the 11th round to the Washington Nationals, but chose to attend Florida State instead then missed the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Projects as a reliever.
• In the ninth round (No. 264), the Pirates picked middle infielder Duce Gourson of UCLA. Gourson, projected to play second base, was ranked No. 158 by MLB Pipeline after posting a .953 OPS as a sophomore, when he slashed .319/.438/.515 with 10 doubles, 10 home runs and 48 RBIs. His numbers slipped a bit this past season, as Gourson hit .288/.427/.482 with 16 doubles, seven homers and 27 RBIs.
• In the 10th round (No. 294), the Pirates selected catcher Derek Berg of Army. The 6-3, 200-pound righty hitter batted .290/.404/.605 with 16 doubles, 15 homers and 38 RBIs as a senior. Berg also played second base and first base at West Point.
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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