The 2020 Major League Baseball Draft is going to look and feel strange. Like the 2020 NFL Draft before it, MLB will employ an online-only, virtual format for its draft, slated to begin Wednesday, June 10.
When the festivities begin, the Pirates will take the cyber-stage for the first time at No. 7 overall, a position that can bring a Hall of Fame-level boom or a historic bust.
In his latest 2020 MLB Mock Draft, ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel has the Pirates making a selection that could potentially bolster their lineup with raw power in 21-year-old, 6-foot-3, 200-pound outfielder Heston Kjerstad.
Kjerstad was named to the freshman All-America team during his 2018 season at Arkansas, and he continued to shine throughout his college career, taking home first-team All-America status again during his team's shortened 2020 season.
And that 2020 season was just ridiculous.
In 16 games and 67 at-bats, Kjerstad hit six home runs while tallying 20 RBIs, slashing .448/.513/.791 in the process. Sure, they're using aluminum bats, but that power is no accident. He hit 14 home runs in 69 games as a freshman and 17 in 69 games as a junior, too, hitting over .325/.400/.550 in each of those two seasons.
In all, Kjerstad has slashed .343/.421/.590 with 37 home runs and 129 RBIs in his collegiate career.
Kjerstad was previously drafted by the Mariners in the 36th round of the 2017 MLB Draft but elected to head to Arkansas instead. That move paid off for him, as he's now a top-10 candidate for the 2020 MLB Draft, with McDaniel mocking him to the Pirates at No. 7 overall. McDaniel gives this selection a 40 percent probability, with catcher Patrick Bailey and right-handed pitcher Emerson Hancock also receiving 20 percent considerations apiece.
HUNTER'S VIEW
McDaniel's top three picks — first baseman Spencer Torkelson to the Tigers, second baseman Austin Martin to the Orioles and left-handed pitcher Asa Lacy to the Marlins — make sense. Those feel like solid, reasonable selections.
Kjerstad at No. 7 also adds up if the Pirates want to go with a productive, left-handed college hitter who could progress through the minors a little faster than a high-school project.
The interesting layer in this, though, comes with Hancock sliding to No. 9. The 6-foot-4 righty went 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA/1.042 WHIP in 24 innings during his shortened 2020 campaign, but his sophomore year — an 8-3 record alongside a 1.99 ERA/0.841 WHIP — immediately jumps off the page. He tops out at 99 MPH with his fastball, but the story with Hancock isn't the heat but the total package. He's shown an impressive four-pitch mix, including a mid-80s slider, a hard-breaking curve and a changeup that's shown major potential throughout his collegiate career.
That repertoire makes him an exciting, intriguing selection, but, as those early numbers in 2020 indicated, Hancock didn't quite follow up his stellar sophomore campaign with the same results, putting some scouts on edge. He also sat some of the 2019 summer with "arm soreness," which will further perk up some ears when considering taking him in the top 10.
Emerson Hancock, 95mph Fastball/83mph Slider combo (from my SEC Network feature ?). pic.twitter.com/b8xatiDC4V
— SnorlaxIsMyDaddy (@PitchingNinja) April 19, 2019
All that said, his four-pitch mix and overall polish make him hard to pass up if he's sitting there for the Pirates at No. 7. Unlike McDaniel, I'd lean Hancock's way.
Soon, we'll see how Ben Cherington and company approach the pick.
