Pirates get rights to top overall draft choice in 2023

Dec 7, 2022 - 7:19 PM

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The Pittsburgh Pirates took home an off-the-field win on Tuesday night when they secured the top overall draft choice in the 2023 MLB Draft to take place in Seattle in July. It was the first ever draft lottery for Major League Baseball, with the next five picks going to the Washington Nationals, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics.

The Buccos had just a 16.5 percent chance of taking home the top pick, but it materialized for them to add another number one to their farm system, with the last top pick being catcher Henry Davis in 2021.

GM Ben Cherington had this to say:

“When you’re picking up high in the draft, we know that that’s really important. Whether it’s 1 or 3 or 5, we’ve got to get those picks right and bring good players in. So I don’t feel like it’s more pressure. We’ve had practice with it obviously recently. I anticipate and certainly hope we will not be sitting in this seat in future years. But we’re going to take advantage of this one.”

The Bucs have plenty of holes to fill, and with Bryan Reynolds recently requesting a trade, they cold be looking to shore up their outfield, with Dylan Crews, Max Clark and Wyatt Langford (all outfielders) being routinely named as some of the best players available.

We’ll be back in the coming days with some thoughts on who the Pirates might take, but for now, we can enjoy this win for the Bucs.