The MLB draft is July 9th. There are three excellent prospects at the top of the draft.
Dylan Crews, OF, LSU
He's 21 and has dominated in the SEC throughout his career with 58 HRs and 184 RBIs while batting .380. A lot of sites have him as the No. 1 overall prospect, but there was some talk he doesn't want to play in Pittsburgh and prefers Washington. If the Pirates offer him the max contract, I doubt he doesn't sign.
Paul Skenes, P, LSU
Also 21 and 6'6", he's a huge pitcher with a rocket arm and is the best pitching prospect in a long time. The downside is he isn't an everyday player and there's always worries about arm injuries. The upside is the only way for the Pirates to get a dominant arm is to draft one. His velocity shot up this year from the low to mid 90s to an average of 98 mph and pitching over 100. I've read he already has three good pitches. He has two years at Air Force and one at LSU with a career 2.18 ERA and 12.8 K/9. He's pretty good at the plate if the Pirates wanted to tackle that territory.
Wyatt Langford, OF, Florida
Another 21 year old was probably the top prospect at the beginning of the season. He's a little bigger than Crews and has played left field while Crews has been in center. He has 47 HRs and 120 RBIs while batting .363. I've read that some scouts believe Langford's power numbers will translate better to MLB.
Common sense says everyday player > pitcher, but the idea of having a guy who can come in every five days and shut down a lineup is intriguing, especially losing in the playoffs to dominant pitchers. The only thing I better not here is signability and instead it better be who they think will be the best player. It's very possible that Crews or Skenes could be on the MLB roster as early as next season, possibly Langford too.
