Ben Cherington was adamant the Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t set out to stockpile pitchers in the MLB Draft but it certainly worked out that way when their three-day total amounted to 16 arms out of 21 picks.
The Pirates used eight of their final 10 picks yesterday on pitchers. In total, they took 10 right-handers, six lefties, a catcher, first baseman, shortstop, two outfielders and a two-way player who is expected to play third base but touched triple digits on the mound as a reliever.
Even so, Cherington denied the Pirates prioritized pitching so much as they took advantage of the draft’s depth where they could. The first round was position player-heavy, so they selected the best pure hitter in prep middle infielder Termarr Johnson at No. 4 overall and added Notre Dame third baseman/right-hander Jack Brannigan in the third round.
Of those 16 pitchers, the Pirates ended up picking 14 from the college ranks, including Brannigan, in a sign they are looking for more immediate help.