Jul 7, 2023 5 min read

Major League Baseball will hold its annual draft Sunday and the Pirates, once again, hold the No. 1 overall pick.

For months, the focus on who the Pirates should take with that pick focused on LSU outfielder Dylan Crews. Then, his teammate, pitcher Paul Skenes, emerged as a possibility. thanks to his electric fastball.

But both are reportedly expecting to break the bank and go over slot value on their asking price for a signing bonus. That’s fine. It’s within their rights.

Crews, represented by agent Scott Boras, has been particularly vocal, with a report leaked last week that he doesn’t want to play in Pittsburgh.

Of course, for the fanbase that has zeroed in on Crews and Skenes for several months, if the Pirates don’t take one of those two players, some will consider it a waste.

I wouldn’t take either player.

Given the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford makes more sense.

If Crews doesn’t want to be in Pittsburgh, fine. He’s not clearly a better prospect than Langford. In fact, some have moved Langford ahead of Crews as a prospect and have him ranked No. 1, including ESPN.com’s Kiley McDaniel.

Both project as corner outfielders who will be in the majors sooner rather than later. But Langford comes without the Boras headache.

As McDaniel states, regardless of what order those top three players are selected, when added to the prospects currently in the minors across baseball, Langford will be his ninth-best prospect, Crews the 10th and Skenes the 13th.

It’s that close.

The one drawback to those top three are their age. As college players, Langford, Crews and Skenes are all already 21 years old.

The next two top prospects – and this is considered a strong top 5 – are a pair of high school outfielders, Walker Jenkins and Max Clark.

Langford and Crews are razor-thin close in terms of overall talent. But with Boras representing Crews, I’d take a hard pass. The Pirates would have no hope of signing him to a long-term contract in the future.

And if it’s a choice between Langford and Skenes, I would always side with taking the position player over the pitcher if it’s close. Position players are on the field daily and don’t have the injury concerns of pitchers.

That’s why the 6-1, 225-pound Langford, who hit 47 home runs over 492 college at-bats the past two seasons, runs like a deer and is a plus defensive player, should be the pick.

• The NFL draft is so different from those for baseball or the NBA. Hockey, too, for that matter.

There aren’t high school players involved in the NFL draft like there are in the other three. And any international players would probably best be served to come and play football in the United States, as well.

Everyone knows the players available in the NFL draft each year. There is a whole industry devoted to it. It’s one of the big things that makes everyone an expert on which player should be taken where.

• It was good to see Pirates closer David Bednar get a spot on the National League roster for the All-Star game.

The Pirates have 40 wins, and Bednar has saved nearly half of those.

He’s also posted a sub-2.00 ERA and averaged more than a strikeout per inning pitched.

Mitch Keller, the Pirates’ other representative on the All-Star team, has had a good first half. Bednar’s first half has been great.

• The Penguins brought goalie Tristan Jarry back on a five-year deal that will have him counting just over $5 million on their salary cap next season.

Now, the options to make a move at goaltender were limited, but bringing back Jarry and keeping the status quo at what’s been a troublesome spot for the Penguins the past few years isn’t exactly what many wanted to see out of the start of GM Kyle Dubas’ tenure.

• Though the tournament isn’t what it once was, when 40-plus teams competed in it each year, the Washington County team that will represent the area in this year’s Pony World Series got off to a strong start in last weekend’s Beast of the East, winning the championship.

Washington County went 7-1 over four grueling days, outscoring its opponents 84-21. It’s only loss, a 7-4 defeat on the opening day of the tournament after having just two practices following the team being picked, was avenged in the championship game with an 11-1 win.

This team should represent Washington County well in the World Series.