For the sixth time in Pittsburgh Pirates history, they will select first overall in the MLB draft. Prior to this year they made the number one pick in 1986, 1996, 2002, 2011, and 2021. The consensus pick in this year’s draft would be LSU slugger Dylan Crews but does this mean the Pirates will take him? We will dive into the previous #1 picks the Pirates selected and if they were ranked the consensus number 1 or not. 

1986: Jeff King, SS

Looking back at the top 5 of 1986, King was an decent pick of the bunch, but #6 was Gary Sheffield so we take that with a grain of salt. King was serviceable during his 8 year career with the Pirates, before spending his last 3 seasons with Kansas City. His career average comes out to .256 average, with 709 RBIs and 154 homeruns. His best seasons came in 1993 hitting .295, 1996 (his last seasons with the Pirates) with 111 RBIs, and 1997 with the Royals and a career high 112 RBIs. Hindsights twenty-twenty on this pick. 

1996: Kris Benson, RHP

I would say he is the biggest bust on this list, but that player will be coming up later on. Benson had all the tools to become a future ace, also fresh off a stint with Team USA in the 1996 Olympics. He made his debut in 1999, where he showed flashes of greatness, and even finished 4th in rookie of the year voting. In 2000, he got even better, posting a 3.85 ERA and a 10-12 record with an awful Pirates team. Then, things took a turn for the worse. Tommy John surgery took Benson victim in the offseason of 2000 which made him miss all of 2001. After that, it was a downhill spiral and eventually, he was shipped off to the New York Mets in the summer of 2004. The Mets got some serviceable time out of him, but he still was not that #1 pick they all hoped for. He bounced to the Texas Rangers in 2009, followed by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010, before hanging it up after that season. He finished his career 70-75 with a 4.42 ERA. There is limited video on Benson, but enjoy him laying down some sacrifice bunts below.

2002: Bryan Bullington, RHP

Remember how I said Benson was not the biggest bust? Well this is what I meant. Bullington was the off the board, “cheap, Pirates pick”, as the media calls it. The likes of B.J. Upton, Zack Grienke, and Prince Fielder were three of the next six picks after Bullington for reference. Bullington made his debut in 2005, and was promising in his first start, with two earned runs in only an inning and a third. He got his labrum repaired in the offseason, which made him miss the entirety of the 2006 season. Bryan spent the 2007 season mainly at Triple A Indianapolis, and was a September call up that fall. He struggled mightily again, going 0-3 in 3 appearances and allowing 10 runs over those 17 innings. In 2008, Bullington struggled in Indianapolis, and was eventually designated for assignment in July. He was picked up by Cleveland before getting cut again a couple months later. Bullington bounced to Kansas City the following year, and that ended his major league career. He played in Japan after that, before a shoulder injury in 2015 forced him to retire. 

2011: Gerrit Cole, RHP

Going into the 2011 draft, the Pirates were beyond scared to take Cole, due to his agent Scott Boras. With the fans nipping at their heels, they bugged and took Cole out of UCLA, the consensus #1 pick. Gerrit made his debut in 2013, and fans packed the stadium to see the future Pirates ace. He finished his rookie year 10-7 with a 3.22 ERA. Cole helped lead the Pirates to the playoffs, and even started a pivotal game 5 vs the Cardinals. 2014 and 2015 were years of dominance from Cole, going 11-5 and a 3.65 ERA in 2014. This was then followed by a 19-8 record, and a 2.60 ERA in 2015. Gerrit had a slight down year due to injury, but still had very good numbers overall, with a 7-10 record with a 3.88 ERA. 2017 was another slight down year, going 12-12 with a 4.26 ERA. After that year, and fighting with Cole in arbitration, the Pirates decided to part ways and make a trade with the Houston Astros. Since then Cole has 4 seasons with 10+ wins, and all 5 seasons with an ERA under 3.50. In addition, World Series with the Astros, many close CY Young trophies, and a 9-year $324 million dollar contract with the Yankees, even having some all star appearances sprinkled in there too. So yeah, the Pirates missed the mark on letting Cole go.

2021: Henry Davis, C

It is too soon to say if this was a bust or not, but the catching position was one place the Pirates needed to improve in this draft. RHP Jack Leiter, and SS Marcelo Mayer were two of the top names amongst the draft boards for the Pirates. Thus far, Davis has shown flashes, but multiple hits by pitches in the hand keep putting him on the injured list. In 2021, he played in rookie ball, and got his first home run and only played two games, until he went right up to High A Greensboro on their playoff run. A .263 average, 3 RBIs, and 1.059 OPS in only 6 games with the Hoppers had Pirates fans starting to get really excited. Then, he got hurt and that injury ended his 2021 season. Greensboro was the starting point for Davis in 2022, where he excelled right off the bat hitting .341 with 22 RBIs in only 22 games. Altoona was next up for Davis, and he even hit a home run in his first game. Then, he got hurt, before coming back in June. He went back on the injured list in July, and did not return until September. By season’s end, he only got 31 games of double A ball, hitting only .207 and 18 RBIs. He looked promising in the Arizona Fall League, as well as Spring Training, and will look to continue this season in Altoona. One slight worry is the emergence of Endy Rodriguez, that jumped between 3 leagues this year, and leapfrogged him on the depth chart. Henry still looks to be the catcher of the future since Endy’s versatility is strong, but it is somewhat worrisome still looking at his injury history. 

Enter Dylan Crews

Looking at all of this, they are not prone to take the best player available and tend to be scared by a certain agent, Scott Boras. Luckily for them (at least at the moment), Scott Boras does not work with Dylan Crews. This seems to be the homerun pick, right…? RIGHT? 

Dylan Crews, OF

The freshman came on to the scene at LSU, and looked like a perennial all star. He hit for a .362 average, with 42 RBIs, 18 home runs,a .453 OBP, and a .663 SLG%. Then, his sophomore season was even better. A .349 average, 72 RBIs, 22 home runs, a .463 OBP, and a .691 SLG%. Now, the eyes were on him, and he was looking to be the top prospect of the MLB Draft in 2023. The Junior Outfielder has done more than becoming a top prospect, no no, he’s THE PROSPECT. Through his first 24 games this season, he clobbered 9 home runs with 32 RBIs, 43 hits, a .531 batting average, .658 OBP, and only a .988 SLG%. He leads the entirety of the NCAA in average, 2nd in slugging percentage, and first in the on-base percentage category. Crews is currently also averaging over 100 MPH on his exit velocities, and is setting records with his ability to know the strike zone. This is a kid that’s playing MLB The Show on beginner.

Conclusion

The Pirates do need all the help they can get, especially good bats. They cannot pass up on Dylan Crews, it would be a bigger mistake than picking Bryan Bullington. This isn’t a wait and see how he develops prospects either, this is a wait 2 ½, to 3 years kind of guy, that can help the new core now. Come July 17th, Ben Cherrington must make the right pick, for the sanity of Pirates fans, and for the hope of our team. Dylan Crews is the right answer.