The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the National League Central division. Since the establishment of the Rule 4 Draft the Pirates have selected 72 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur clubs to its franchises. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.
Of these 72 players, 27 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 20 of these were right-handed, while 7 were left-handed. 17 outfielders and 15 shortstops were selected. The Pirates have also drafted 7 catchers, 3 first basemen, and 3 third basemen, but have never selected a second baseman in the first round. Eleven players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, while eight came from Florida.
Three Pirates' first-round picks have won championships with the franchise. Richie Hebner (1966) won a World Series title on the 1971 championship team, and Steve Nicosia (1973) and Dale Berra (1975) won with the 1979 team (though Berra did not appear in the World Series). Paul Skenes (2023) is the Pirates' only first-round pick to ever win the Rookie of the Year Award, doing so in 2024. None of their picks have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but Barry Bonds (1985) won seven Most Valuable Player awards, more than any other player, including two with Pittsburgh. Bonds also won 12 Silver Sluggers, 8 Gold Gloves, and holds both the single-season and career home run records (73 and 762). The Pirates have made fourteen selections in the supplemental round of the draft and have made the first overall selection six times (1986, 1996, 2002, 2011, 2021, and 2023). The Pirates also had the first overall pick in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft after winning the inaugural draft lottery.
The Pirates have failed 3 times in signing a first-round draft pick. This first occurred in 2012, when the Pirates selected RHP Mark Appel from Stanford University, who sought a significant bonus which, according to new MLB rules, would have cost the Pirates a future draft pick. The Pirates received the 9th overall pick in the 2013 draft for their failure to sign Appel.
Pedro Álvarez (2009) nearly went unsigned as he faced a contentious process in which Álvarez and the Pirates reached an initial deal after the signing deadline (with permission from MLB); his agent Scott Boras and the Players Association filed a grievance challenging this post-deadline deal, and ultimately the Pirates renegotiated a deal with him in September that year. The Pirates have had ten compensatory picks overall since the first draft in 1965. These additional picks are provided when a team loses a particularly valuable free agent in the previous off-season, or, more recently, if a team fails to sign a draft pick from the previous year.
Key Year Each year links to an article about that year's Major League Baseball draft. Position Indicates the secondary/collegiate position at which the player was drafted, rather than the professional position the player may have gone on to play Pick Indicates the number of the pick* Player did not sign with the Pirates § Indicates a supplemental pick '71 Player was a member of the Pirates' 1971 championship team '79 Player was a member of the Pirates' 1979 championship team
Picks
Year Name Position School (Location) Pick Ref 1965 Outfielder Ensley High School(Birmingham, Alabama) 10 1966 '71 Shortstop Norwood High School(Norwood, Massachusetts) 15 1967 Outfielder Coyle High School(Brockton, Massachusetts) 16 1968 Outfielder Sequoia High School(Redwood City, California) 1969 Right-handed pitcher Merritt Island High School(Merritt Island, Florida) 10 1970 Right-handed pitcher Springfield Tech High School(Springfield, Massachusetts) 13 1971 Shortstop Regan High School (Houston, Texas) 22 1972 Shortstop Servite High School(Anaheim, California) 23 1973 '79 Catcher North Miami Beach High School(Opa-locka, Florida) 24 1974 Left-handed pitcher Procter Hug High School(Reno, Nevada) 11 1975 '79 Shortstop Montclair High School(Montclair, New Jersey) 20 1976 Right-handed pitcher Henry Ford II High School(Sterling Heights, Michigan) 21 1977 Outfielder Meadowdale High School(Dayton, Ohio) 18 1978 First baseman DeSoto High School(DeSoto, Texas) 18 Outfielder Dougherty High School(Albany, Georgia) 21 1979 1980 Shortstop South Gate High School(South Gate, California) 20 1981 Right-handed pitcher John Brown University(Siloam Springs, Arkansas) 14 1982 Shortstop Sahuaro High School(Tucson, Arizona) 1983 Outfielder Campolindo High School(Moraga, California) 12 1984 Left-handed pitcher University of New Mexico(Albuquerque, New Mexico) 15 1985 Outfielder Arizona State University(Tempe, Arizona) 1986 Shortstop University of Arkansas(Fayetteville, Arkansas) 1987 Outfielder Oviedo High School(Oviedo, Florida) 1988 Shortstop Horizon High School(Scottsdale, Arizona) 13 1989 Shortstop Jones County High School(Gray, Georgia) 18 1990 Right-handed pitcher West High School(Bakersfield, California) Right-handed pitcher University of South Alabama(Mobile, Alabama) 27§ 1991 Catcher Florida Junior College(Jacksonville, Florida) 24 1992 Jason Kendall Catcher Torrance High School(Torrance, California) 23 Outfielder Harrison County High School(Cynthiana, Kentucky) 33§ 1993 Outfielder Laurens District High School(Laurens, South Carolina) 22 Outfielder Purdue University(West Lafayette, Indiana) 34§ First baseman Parker High School(Birmingham, Alabama) 42§ 1994 Shortstop Angleton High School(Angleton, Texas) 10 1995 Shortstop Green Valley High School(Henderson, Nevada) 10 1996 Right-handed pitcher Clemson University(Clemson, South Carolina) 1997 First baseman Baldwin Park High School(Baldwin Park, California) 1998 Left-handed pitcher Vanderbilt University(Nashville, Tennessee) 15 1999 Right-handed pitcher Wellington Community High School(Wellington, Florida) 2000 Left-handed pitcher Wellington Community High School(Wellington, Florida) 19 2001 Right-handed pitcher Kent State University(Kent, Ohio) 2002 Right-handed pitcher Ball State University(Muncie, Indiana) 2003 Left-handed pitcher Mississippi State University(Mississippi State, Mississippi) 2004 Catcher Pine Richland High School(Gibsonia, Pennsylvania) 11 2005 Outfielder Fort Meade High School(Fort Meade, Florida) 11 2006 Right-handed pitcher University of Houston(Houston, Texas) 2007 Left-handed pitcher Clemson University(Clemson, South Carolina) 2008 Third baseman Vanderbilt University(Nashville, Tennessee) 2009 Catcher Boston College(Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts) Right-handed pitcher Dallas Baptist University(Dallas, Texas) 49§ 2010 Right-handed pitcher The Woodlands High School(The Woodlands, Texas) 2011 Right-handed pitcher University of California, Los Angeles(Los Angeles, California) 2012 * Right-handed pitcher Stanford University(Stanford, California) Outfielder Texas Tech University(Lubbock, Texas) 45§ 2013 Outfielder Grayson High School(Loganville, Georgia) 9§ Catcher Kentwood High School(Covington, Washington) 2014 Shortstop Mountain Pointe High School(Phoenix, Arizona) Outfielder University of San Diego(San Diego, California) 39§2015 Shortstop University of Arizona(Tucson, Arizona) Third baseman Concordia Lutheran High School(Tomball, Texas) 45§2016 Third baseman Wake Forest University(Winston-Salem, North Carolina) * Right-handed pitcher Damien High School(La Verne, California) 41§2017 Right-handed pitcher Concordia Lutheran High School(Tomball, Texas) 2018 Outfielder University of South Alabama(Mobile, Alabama) * Right-handed pitcher Fivay High School(Hudson, Florida) 36§2019 Right-handed pitcher Cary-Grove High School(Cary, Illinois) Center Fielder William Penn Senior High School(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) 37§2020 Shortstop New Mexico State University(Las Cruces, New Mexico) 2021 Catcher University of Louisville(Louisville, Kentucky) Right-handed pitcher University of South Carolina(Columbia, South Carolina) 31§2022 Shortstop Mays High School(Atlanta, Georgia) Right-handed pitcher Campbell University(Buies Creek, North Carolina) 36§2023 Right-handed pitcher LSU(Baton Rouge, Louisiana) 2024 Shortstop Jackson Prep School(Jackson, Mississippi) 2025 Right-handed pitcher Corona High School(Corona, California) 2026 Outfielder LSU(Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
See also Pittsburgh Pirates minor league players
Footnotes Through the 2012 draft, free agents were evaluated by the Elias Sports Bureau and rated "Type A", "Type B", or not compensation-eligible. If a team offered arbitration to a player but that player refused and subsequently signed with another team, the original team was able to receive additional draft picks. If a "Type A" free agent left in this way, his previous team received a supplemental pick and a compensatory pick from the team with which he signed. If a "Type B" free agent left in this way, his previous team received only a supplemental pick. Since the 2013 draft, free agents are no longer classified by type; instead, compensatory picks are only awarded if the team offered its free agent a contract worth at least the average of the 125 current richest MLB contracts. However, if the free agent's last team acquired the player in a trade during the last year of his contract, it is ineligible to receive compensatory picks for that player. The Pirates gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1978 from the Los Angeles Dodgers as compensation for losing free agent Terry Forster. The Pirates lost their first-round pick in 1979 to the Los Angeles Dodgers as compensation for signing free agent Lee Lacy. The Pirates gained a compensatory first-round pick in 1980 from the Los Angeles Angels as compensation for losing free agent Bruce Kison. The Pirates gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1990 for losing free agent Jim Gott. The Pirates gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1992 for losing free agent Bobby Bonilla. The Pirates gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1993 for losing free agent Doug Drabek. The Pirates gained a supplemental first-round pick in 1993 for losing free agent Barry Bonds. The Pirates gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2009 for failing to sign Tanner Scheppers. The Pirates gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2012 for losing free agent Ryan Doumit. The Pirates gained a supplemental first-round pick in 2013 for failing to sign Mark Appel. Competitive Balance pick The Pirates gained a compensatory first-round pick in 2015 for losing free agent Russell Martin. Competitive Balance pick Competitive Balance pick Competitive Balance pick Competitive Balance pick Competitive Balance pick
References General references
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