Pirates Land 9th Pick in Draft Lottery

One year after seeing their name come up for the first-overall pick in the inaugural draft lottery, the Pittsburgh Pirates again found themselves in the mix for the top pick in the 2024 draft.

This time around, the Pirates didn’t have the same fortune. The Pirates will pick ninth in next year’s draft. The end result is one spot behind where they were projected based off of the odds.

Entering this year’s draft lottery, the Pirates had a just a sliver of hope at landing the top pick. Pittsburgh had a three-percent chance, which represented the eighth-best amongst the teams involved.

This time last year, the Pirates had a 16.5% chance at the first pick, which was tied with the Washington Nationals and Oakland A’s for the best chance.

With the first-overall pick in last year’s draft, the Pirates selected right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes out of Louisiana State University. Skenes is considered the Pirates’ top prospect and arguably the top pitching prospect in the league.

Though the Pittsburgh Pirates won’t have their pick of the bunch, they are still in position to again add an impact player to their minor league system through next year’s draft.

Among the players who are currently at the top of draft boards are infielder JJ Wetherholt (West Virginia University), first baseman Nick Kurtz (Wake Forest), right-handed pitcher Chase Burns (Wake Forest) and two-way player Jac Caglianone (University of Florida). Obviosuly, a lot can change between now and the start of the draft.

The first pick of the 2024 draft went to the Cleveland Guardians. The Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies round out the top three.

Former Pirates reliever and current broadcaster Matt Capps was the team’s representative at the lottery. Ex-Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, who is currently working in the Rockies’ front office, was their representative.