Baseball America’s Jim Callis sent out a number of tweets late Thursday morning regarding the Pirates’ choice with the No. 8 overall pick in the upcoming MLB Draft.
Giolito easy if healthy. Then Marrero over Shaffer. @pbcorbust: #Pirates better w/Marrero, Shaffer, Giolito, Roache w/first pick?
Re Giolito: Until teams know elbow & signability, hard to see where he fits. Can’t go at top of #mlbdraft & then it’s hard to pay him.
A bit rich for me at 8. @buccobarnes12: Do you believe that Marrero would be a good pick at#8?
The players in question here are Deven Marrero, a shortstop from Arizona State, and Lucas Giolito, a California high-school pitcher. The Pirates have frequently been connected to Marrero, whose calling card is his excellent defense. Unfortunately, he has struggled offensively this year. Giolito has more upside and could conceivably fall to the Pirates. He sprained his elbow earlier this season, however. As a Pirates fan, my hope is that Giolito proves he’s healthy and the Pirates take him. Marrero could certainly become a good big-leaguer, and the ability to play big-league-caliber shortstop isn’t easy to find. But there are too many questions about his offense.
For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout. For more on the draft, there’s Minor League Ball.