Jonathan Mayo understood the strategy when the Pittsburgh Pirates took Louisville catcher Henry Davis with the No. 1 overall pick of the MLB Draft, knowing it would allow them to spend over slot on others.
What Mayo couldn’t believe was the prep talent the Pirates added with their next three picks.
When the Pirates added left-handed pitcher Anthony Solometo in the second round, outfielder Lonnie White Jr. with their Competitive Balance B Round pick and two-way star Bubba Chandler in the third round, they added four players regarded as top-32 prospects.
“They got potentially first-round talents with their first four picks, which is kind of insane,” said Mayo, a Squirrel Hill resident who covers the MLB Draft and minor leagues for MLB.com and MiLB.com. “If you’re a Pirate fan … what they did with those first four picks was astounding.”
Mayo’s MLB.com colleague, senior writer Jim Callis, rated the Pirates as having the best draft of any team. Callis cited the Pirates for taking the best college position player in Davis, the best high school left-hander in Solometo, the best two-way talent in Chandler and one of the top athletes in White in the first four rounds.
Callis also mentioned that the Pirates took the highest player ever selected from Vermont in right-hander Owen Kellington in the fourth round, the best college fifth-year senior in Dallas Baptist infielder Jackson Glenn in the fifth round and a right-hander with a high pitching floor in Sean Sullivan in the eighth.
Bleacher Report gave the Pirates an “A” for their draft, joining the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers as one of only five teams to earn an impeccable grade.
The Pirates had a draft pool of $14,394,000 to spend on their first 11 picks. While taking Davis over the draft’s top-rated prospects, prep shortstops Marcelo Mayer and Jordan Lawlar, raised some eyebrows, draft analysts viewed it as a way for Pirates general manager Ben Cherington to assemble a greater depth of talent to stock their farm system.
“Frankly, I like the Pittsburgh Pirates grabbing the best college bat with the first pick in Henry Davis rather than one of the high school shortstops who come with necessary projection,” ESPN’s David Schoenfeld wrote. “That’s the art of the draft, of course, but we’ve seen several No. 1 high school picks struggle to develop in recent years, so Davis feels like more of a sure — and safer — bet. He also has a strong arm, and his other defensive issues like pitch framing may be a lot less important if we eventually see robot umpires.”
Mayo didn’t quibble with the Pirates picking Davis, either. Although the selection might not have been as sexy as the shortstops or Vanderbilt pitchers Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, Davis was considered a top-five talent by scouts and a solid selection throughout the scouting industry.
“They didn’t reach. This isn’t the Pirates taking Tony Sanchez,” Mayo said, referencing the Boston College catcher who was drafted No. 4 overall in 2009. “(Davis) was the best college bat in the country, one of the few who separated himself. The biggest question is the receiving, and the trick with catching is that you really have to want to do it. One of the things that sold the Pirates on him was not only the desire to be a catcher but to be the best major league catcher.”
Baseball America expressed excitement in the Pirates draft class, ranking their first two days among the top four in the majors, and credited them for taking the Louisville star: “While Davis wasn’t one of the players who was frequently mentioned as the top player in the class, it’s worth reiterating that the 2021 class never had an established, consensus top player and Davis was solidly inside the top five and the clear-cut top college position player in the class. He might not have the most upside, but try finding another player who has his combination of bat-to-ball skills and impact. You’re going to struggle to find a hitter of that category from the college ranks this year.”
Asked to choose which one of the draft picks he is most impressed by, Mayo debated between Solometo and Chandler before eventually leaning toward the latter, a Clemson quarterback recruit he called “an impressive package” as both a raw pitcher and a switch-hitting shortstop who never has concentrated solely on baseball.
“It’s hard because all three of those guys at the start of Day 2 could be really, really good,” Mayo said. “But Chandler is super athletic. … If you’re going to force me to pick one of those guys, I’d circle him. We’re going to look back and say he should’ve gone in the mid-first round.”
The Pirates are expected to sign Davis for below slot value ($8,415,300), so they can redirect their savings to pay at or above-slot to convince Solometo ($1,999,300), White ($1,050,300) and Chandler ($870,000) to skip college and sign to play professionally.
Mayo believes Cherington has strengthened a farm system that was ranked No. 4 by ESPN, No. 8 by MLB.com. and No. 13 by Baseball America through the draft and could add more minor-league talent by the July 30 trade deadline before the rankings are updated.
“I think they had an outstanding draft,” Mayo said. “They formulated a plan, and they executed it extremely well. Obviously, this is all on paper, with the caveat that you can’t really evaluate a draft until years from now. … On paper they already had an up arrow. Davis might probably be the only one who might crack the top 100 right out of the gate, but in terms of depth and high ceilings, it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re a top-five farm system after the draft.”
Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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