Pirates Named Landing Spot For Former No. 1 Pick
The Pittsburgh Pirates caught lightning in a bottle when they traded for right-handed hitting catcher and former No. 2 overall pick Joey Bart at the beginning of the 2024 season. Could they find similar success by giving a No. 1 overall pick a second chance?
CBS Sports' Mik Axisa listed the top landing spots for Detroit Tigers right-handed hitting first baseman and first overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft Spencer Torkelson and had the Pirates at No. 3, only trailing the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres. Axisa noted Torkelson's right-handed bat would address a pressing need for Pittsburgh and it could move newly acquired first baseman Spencer Horwitz to a different position.
"The Pirates traded three pitchers, including Luis Ortiz (3.0 WAR in 2024), to get Horwitz in what amounted to a three-team trade with the Guardians and Blue Jays," Axisa wrote. "They think highly of him, clearly, though Horwitz has some outfield experience, so there are ways to get him and Torkelson into the lineup together. Pittsburgh picked up Joey Bart, the No. 2 pick in 2018, in a minor trade this past season and helped him put together a very productive year after it appeared his career had stalled out with the Giants. The Pirates need offense in the worst way and Torkelson's righty power would be a welcome addition to a lineup short on it."
Of Horwitz's 97 games with the Toronto Blue Jays last season, he played 39 at second base.
Trading for Torkelson would bank on him returning to his form from 2023 when he hit 31 home runs and had 94 RBIs while slashing .233/.313/.446. The former first overall pick saw his numbers decrease in each of those stats last season, as he batted .219/.295/.374 with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs.
A potential platoon could be an option with Horwitz, 27, being a left-handed bat and Torkelson being a righty, though, most of their production has come against right-handed pitching. Of Horwitz's 381 plate appearances last season, 300 came against right-handed pitchers and he batted .285/.380/.484 with 12 home runs and 31 RBIs against them.
Torkelson, 25, has 1,112 at-bats against righties compared to just 357 against lefties. The Tigers first baseman has hit 32 of his 49 career home runs against righties.
Pittsburgh found success when they gave Bart a second chance after his tenure with the San Francisco Giants and he responded with a career season. Given the Pirates' need for offense after they were one of baseball's worst last season, taking a similar chance on Torkelson for an offense in need of more proven bats can't hurt if the cost for the former top pick isn't too much.
