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The Pittsburgh Pirates hold the first pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. Unlike the NBA and NFL drafts, in which teams opt to take the best talent available, many more factors, particularly draft pool signing bonus money allotment, affect the MLB Draft.
While LSU Tigers stars Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews are expected to be the top two overall selections in the 2023 MLB Draft, the Pirates are reportedly only considering one of the two. According to Kyle Glaser of Baseball America, Crews is not a prospect for Pittsburgh. Glaser tweeted:
"The Pirates are shopping a below-slot number to four players for the No. 1 pick, according to multiple industry officials: Wyatt Langford, Paul Skenes, Max Clark and Walker Jenkins. There’s a lot of belief Langford will be the pick, but Jenkins is rising as a possibility."
"Do note: the Pirates have been extremely secretive and locked down with their intentions throughout this process. For comparison, the Orioles are notoriously secretive, and Jackson Holliday was pegged to them weeks before the draft last year. Pirates are a lot more cloudy."
Check out Kyle Glaser's tweets below:
While Skenes and Crews are being viewed as the two best players in this year's draft, the Pittsburgh Pirates are doing their due diligence on other prospects. Former Florida Gators outfielder Wyatt Langford is considered the third-best collegiate prospect, while outfielders Max Clark and Walker Jenkins are considered the top two high school outfielders.
Why aren't the Pittsburgh Pirates considering Dylan Crews?
The Pittsburgh Pirates are considering drafting three outfielders, however, none of them are LSU Tigers star Dylan Crews. According to Tyler Nettuno of USA Today, their lack of interest could stem due to Crews' signing bonus demands. Nettuno reported:
"The answer could revolve around money. Crews is reportedly asking for what would be a record-setting $10 million signing bonus. For reference, the previous record bonus for a top pick in the current era went to Spencer Torkelson in 2020, who inked an $8.42 million deal with Detroit Tigers."
"There’s been speculation that the demand could be an attempt to dissuade the Pirates from drafting Crews, who may wish to play elsewhere. Whether there’s substance to that, it seems like Pittsburgh may not take the risk of not signing the top pick in such a talented draft class."
While Crews may be the top talent available, and at worst, is a 1B to his former Tigers teammate Paul Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates are cautious that he could decide not to sign. If they are weary of their ability to sign Crews, Skenes represents a perfectly capable fallback option.
