There will be some new Young Bucs running around PNC Park very soon!
The 2025 MLB Draft is a little less than a month away, and teams are preparing for who they’re going to select from the high school and college pool of players. Several mock drafts have been released to this point, with ESPN releasing another installment on Wednesday morning. The Pittsburgh Pirates are slated to have the sixth pick in the draft, and there are several players sticking out as early candidates to don the black and yellow on draft night.
ESPN’s first installment of the mock draft saw the club taking left-handed pitcher, Jamie Arnold, out of Florida State. ESPN ranks Arnold as the top prospect in this year’s draft, with many having him being selected before six in their mock drafts. Nonetheless it’d be an incredible steal if the Pirates can grab the supposed top pitcher in this year’s class with the sixth overall pick.
Arnold has drawn comparisons to Chris Sale, standing out as a deadly lefty with a solid three-pitch mix coming out of his junior season. Another pitcher to complement an already stacked Pirates’ rotation could be incredible. Given the team’s recent track record with drafting college pitchers, Arnold could be a slam dunk if he is available at six.
Day 2 of the Draft Combine begins at noon ET!
Here are the standouts from Day 1: https://t.co/CXmwL02P6V pic.twitter.com/H6BhvXD5A6
— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) June 18, 2025
The second iteration of ESPN’s MLB Mock Draft has the Buccos taking their supposed short stop of the future, Aiva Arquette, out of Oregon State. Arquette is ranked as the eighth-best player in this class. At 6’5” and 220 pounds, Arquette is massive for the shortstop position, but has shown throughout his college career to be capable of playing the position with plus athleticism and arm talent to make the tough plays when needed. He’s also shown to be capable of playing at second base during his time at the University of Washington.
Arquette also happens to be one of the most consistent hitters in college baseball, showing lots of pop and potential to be a 20-25 home-run hitter in the big leagues. This year he gathered 19 homers, 66 RBIs, batting .354/.461/.654 with a 1.115 OPS. Big college bats are always a hot commodity in the early rounds, and the Pirates could really benefit from adding him to the squad.
Several other players have been tied to the Pirates’ first round plans, to include shortstop Billy Carlson out of Corona High School in California, shortstop JoJo Parker out of Purvis High School in Mississippi, and pitcher Seth Hernandez out of Corona High School.
Who do yinz think the Pirates will draft this year? Leave us a comment!