Even Holding The Ace, Draft Offers No Guarantees For Pirates
By John E. Sacco

That they have the first pick in the June free agent draft guarantees the Pirates little more than getting to pick before anyone else.

While there is so much preparation put into the process in terms of scouting, talking to coaches and players, holding meetings and so on, General Manager Dave Littlefield might as well break out the dice and start shooting them across the table.

It really is that kind of a gamble—especially when one examines the Pirates' history with first-round picks.

Of the 36 players the Pirates have selected in the first round of the draft since 1965, only 13?36.1 percent?made it into a Pittsburgh uniform.

Three of those players were on the roster to open the season, including catcher Jason Kendall and pitcher Kris Benson and outfielder Chad Hermansen, who both started the year on the disabled list.

Among the group of first-round picks, only two became All-Stars—Barry Bonds and Kendall.

Richie Hebner contributed greatly to a number of Pirates division championship teams. Steve Nicosia platooned with Ed Ott on the 1979 World Series championship team and Jeff King, after a long struggle in the minors, ended up being a solid player for Pittsburgh before being traded to Kansas City.

Clearly, Bonds was the best first-round pick ever. Former GM Syd Thrift grabbed him with the sixth pick in the 1985 draft. Thrift followed that up with a contender for the worst first-round choice ever, outfielder Mark Merchant, selected No. 2 in 1987 behind Ken Griffey Jr.

The Pirates have held the No. 1 pick twice, first making King of Arkansas the top choice in 1986 and then picking Benson out of Clemson in 1996.

It took King a long time to make it in the major leagues. But after many down moments in the minor leagues, he finally made it with the Pirates, was part of division championship teams and eventually was a solid player.

The jury remains out on Benson, who is recovering from "Tommy John" surgery. He has Cy Young stuff but is under. 500 (21-26) in his two big-league seasons. That has more to do with the plight of the Pirates than Benson himself.

He certainly has the pedigree, having been Baseball America's and College Baseball's Player-of-the-Year in 1996 and a member of the bronze-medal winning U.S. Olympic team that same year.

Benson knows the pressure that comes with being the No. 1 pick overall. That player has certain expectations placed on him immediately.

"I think so," Benson said. "Even first-round picks in general are expected to be impact players," Benson said. "You're expected to get to the major leagues fast and learn your lessons quickly.

"It's definitely pressure-packed. But if a player is that good, then he should be able to handle it, get to that level and take everything in stride while doing so."

Four names have surfaced at one time or another as potential picks for the Pirates next month. That list includes Rutgers right-handed pitcher Bobby Brownlie, shortstop B.J. Upton - a high school senior in Virginia - who is considered by some as the finest prospect at the position since Alex Rodriguez, and left-handed pitchers Scott Kazmir of Cypress Falls High in Houston, who throws 94 mph, and Canadian Adam Loewen. Kazmir is said, however, to be solidly committed to pitching for the Texas Longhorns.

Littlefield knows that holding the top pick can be a double-edge sword. A year ago, Minnesota had the top pick and passed on a couple of players, not the least of which was pitcher Mark Prior, who went to the Chicago Cubs. The Twins settled on catcher Joe Maurer, who is currently the No. 7 rated minor-league prospect in the game by Baseball America. It was a case of Minnesota being more concerned about being able to sign their pick than taking what was considered the truly best prospect. The Twins got themselves a fine player, nonetheless. In reality, they didn't have any choice.

The Pirates cannot afford not to sign the top choice. At the same time, they'll be forced to hand out a large signing bonus, unlike any other they've given to the first-round pick before.

"This is great from the standpoint of acquiring talent," Littlefield said. "You expect to get a dynamite player at number one. At the same time, it's a mixed blessing. We need to acquire that kind of talent. We want the best guy out there. But we want to acquire a player willing to sign with us as well. It won't do us any good to draft somebody who will not sign with us."