Overall, the Pirates adding six prospects to their top 50 list is pretty impressive. Here's a link to the Top 25.. Link to the Top 50.. Link to the Top 75.. During a full season at Double-A in 2022, he saw time at third base, shortstop, and center field, and in 2023 hell start seeing more time at second base. But as Triolos pro success with the bat continued at a high level, and with KeBryan Hayes manning the hot corner for the Pirates foreseeable future, the Pirates began searching for defensive alternatives in order to plug Triolo into their lineup. Stratton, 26, sat 94-96 mph in 2022 and has a plus-flashing slider that he rarely throws for strikes. He has the stuff to continue developing as a starter just in case things click, but the bullpen is Jimenezs more likely future destination. Barco is a low-slot lefty with advanced command and several underlying pitch traits that give clubs hope of more upside even though he looks like a lower-variance backend starter prospect on the surface. Hayden Wesneski is a 25-year-old starting pitcher in the Chicago Cubs system. He seems able to make some mid at-bat adjustments to this type of pitch but then ends up playing a guessing game with breaking balls. Selbys fastball sits 96-98 mph and he looks to blow it past hitters up in the zone. Hes different from Kieboom (lever length) and Kiura (simpler footwork) in meaningful ways, but that entire group (and Downs) has had issues with letter-high fastballs, which Gonzales often swings underneath. Webb dealt with a forearm strain that delayed the start of his 2022 season. The Pirates have three of those 38 players, with Termarr Johnson ranked 21st, Endy Rodriguez 22nd and Henry Davis 38th. So the question is, was there actual improvement in his ability or is this just noise in the signal? These rankings are now available on The Board on the 2023 Fantasy Rankings tab, where you can also see the Top 120 Dynasty Rankings!. Still, his tendency to roll his wrists over early in his swing, breaking up his attack angle, resulted in a groundball rate above 50%. The Pittsburgh Pirates are hiring. Silvera, 18, is a physically mature righty who missed a ton of DSL bats even though he only sits 88-90. If he does end up having relevant chase issues, he might track like a left-handed hitting Brendan Rodgers, but Johnsons makeup and personality are so universally lauded that its fair to expect him to make relevant adjustments and become a key cog on Pittsburghs next competitive team. Fangraphs' Top 42 Pirates Prospects When healthy, he was a hard-throwing 40 FV reliever. Ortiz rocketed through the system in 2022, skipping High-A and spending most of the season with Double-A Altoona before making his big league debut across four starts in September and October. The component parts of a scouting, tools-oriented look De Los Santos frame, bat speed, and infield actions put him in that range, while the DSL data reinforces it somewhat. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. The organization will be thrilled if . Last year, Fraizers 2021 performance at Greensboro (which included 20 homers) convinced us that he had a chance to be a big deal, but his plate discipline was a big problem against Double-A pitching. Theres an All-Star-caliber hit and power combination here, and while a bigger pro data sample might reveal some approach-related issues, Johnson has been one of the best hitters his age for going on a half decade and feels like a relatively high-probability high school hitting prospect. The powerfully built Kelly, 19, is a squat but loose righty who sits 93-95 mph and throws quality strikes with his fastball. He moved into a minor league relief role in 2022. He clearly wasnt comfortable in center field during his brief time there last season, but he only played there once every couple of weeks and he isnt a firm no at the position, even if he is bad there right now. This time around, the Top 100 has even more Moreno types, prospects who combine . His delivery evokes Madison Bumgarners long, slingin lefty arm stroke, and Solometos east/west feel for location is Bum-ish, but dont mistake this for a true comp, as Bumgarner had already made 24 big league starts at Solometos age. . Traded from Arizona to Pittsburgh as part of the Starling Marte deal, Peguero had been a top 100 prospect for the last couple of years, tracking like a plus bat middle infielder. His command and changeup are both still works in progress, but his 2022 fastball strike% (68%) is an encouraging sign, and again, Jones has a special level of athleticism that should enable him to hone both over time. Scott, Siani, and Campana all have big physical tools and have all struggled badly from a bat-to-ball standpoint. As a wrap-up, the Pirates have. 1/ . Lopez is a huge-framed infielder who hit .286/.329/.476 and launched 19 homers in just 106 games as a 20-year-old at hitter-friendly Greensboro in 2022. He did not pass. A core scouting rule of thumb is to take the long view with catchers who have impact offensive potential. Pittsburgh Pirates: FanGraphs Add 2021 Draft Picks to Prospect Board He has a pronounced bat wrap. His arm action looks longer and looser than it was in his injury-shortened 2021, and his upper body appears more closed, which might be helping him hide the ball longer than before. He pitched for Panamas U18 team in September and showed a good changeup and fair slider as well. Even though both Davis and Rodriguez are near-ready catching prospects, they arent redundant, and in fact they complement each other well. That creates backspin and carry on his fastball and big depth on his curve. His range and footwork are great, while his actions and arm are fine. Chen is a very advanced righty with a deep repertoire led by his plus changeup. Theyre finding them. Overall, there is a ton of in-zone swing-and-miss happening here. Pittsburgh Pirates Top 61 Prospects | FanGraphs Baseball He is a 6-foot-5 20-year-old, after all. Fangraphs Releases Their List of the Top 100+ Prospects Luigi Hernandez, RHP. Shim is a big, physically mature righty with huge present arm strength, creeping into the upper 90s. Some of his early-career success seems to have stemmed from his physical maturity. While prospect list ultimately isn't what makes a player great, it is . He then played for Taiwans National Team at the WBSC U23 World Cup and helped los Caimanes de Barranquilla win the Colombian Winter League and later the Caribbean Series. His letter-high, heater-heavy style of pitching, like Gerrit Coles, results in lots of fly balls and he may have long-term vulnerability to the home run. Top 51 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates | FanGraphs Baseball It can be found here. Hard-Throwers Endy had an incredible 2022 statline .323/.407/.590 most of which was generated at hitter-friendly Greensboro. He pitched five innings of relief over two games in early May for the Pirates without allowing a run. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as our own observations. The 11-15 group consists of Jared Jones, Ji-hwan Bae, Anthony Solometo, Kyle Nicolas and Jared Triolo. He finished 2022 at Altoona and has a chance to be in the big leagues at some point this season. Scouting reports were. Counter to our past reports, his swing is rather stiff and some of Lopezs length makes him vulnerable to pitches in on his hands. The swing length and approach combination is scary enough to keep Lopez out of the 40+ FV tier even though he has this sort of upside. You can see the power and athleticism in Davis lower half throughout other aspects of his game, and its an indication that he has the ability to polish this stuff up and control the running game. His carrying tool is still his defense, especially his receiving, which is crafty and advanced. While it may seem like a lot of time has passed since he put his name on the prospect map with his otherworldly 2018 DSL performance, Nunez is still very young; hell turn 22 during spring training, where hes a non-roster invitee. His breaking ball is now a mid-80s power breaker thats up to 88-89 at peak and generates plus chase and whiff rates. Cubs prospect Hayden Wesneski proving he belongs in the big leagues Maikol Escotto, 2B Cederlind, 27, spent 2022 recovering from Tommy John, and he had renewed soreness during his rehab, which is part of why he missed the whole year. His 2022 was not as remarkable from a walk and strikeout standpoint but it was still good, as he hit .270/.376/.418 with 38 extra-base hits (pretty good for the Florida State League) and 33 steals at Low-A Bradenton. Carter Bins, C Defensively, he has mostly played second base so far in his professional career, with just a handful of starts at short. A much deeper overview can be found here. Pittsburgh Pirates: Top 10 Players Under Age 26 (as of 4/1/11) 1. This is one of those prospects fantasy players should value more highly than this because of his potential home run output, whereas defensive limitations cause us to value his real-world roster fit in this range. After spending most of the year at Triple-A, where he hit .289/.362/.430, Bae spent the last couple weeks of the 2022 season as an everyday member of the big league club, where he seems likely to stick throughout the coming season as a lefty-hitting 2B/OF. That puts pressure on his plate discipline to improve, since right now Lopez is a little too proactive at the plate and might be exposed at the upper levels. None of his other pitches are above average in fact most of them are currently below average but Chen has plus command projection and a plus changeup, so hes pretty likely to pitch at the back of a big league rotation or as an innings-eating spot starter. Cubs pitching prospect Hayden Wesneski is proving he belongs in his latest Spring Training outing. These rankings include six Pittsburgh Pirates prospects cracking the FanGraph top 100. Chen was the 22nd-ranked player on the 2019 International Player section of The Board and was generally seen as the best signable high school prospect in Taiwan. Hernandez sat 93-96 mph in 2021 and when seen prior to Dodgers list publication last season, then kept throwing harder throughout the summer and ended up averaging 95-97 and touching 101 while with Double-A Tulsa. Blanco is a gigantic corner outfield/1B prospect who had the most present raw power in the January 2022 international signing class. Finding a great changeup (or maybe a split?) Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 Top 50 Prospects January 1, 2021 Kyle Brown General, MiLB, NL Central, Pirates, Top 50 Lists 2 Graphic design by John Stewart, @jonance on Twitter The Pirates had a woeful time in 2020 once the season got going. Brennan Malone, RHP. Top Prospects Team Lists 2022 2021 AL NL Pirates Top Prospects Reading Options Detail Level Data Only Full Position Filter All 60 FV Prospects 1. Injured Arms Unfortunately, he then lost the 2020 season to the pandemic and most of 2021 to a shoulder injury he sustained just 12 games into the season. Martin has plus-plus raw power and a 30-grade hit tool, not enough for first base but maybe enough for consideration overseas. He also mixes in the occasional changeup or curveball, which accounted for a combined 11% of his offerings at Low-A. Pirates Reds: NL West. brewers top prospects fangraphs Thats hard enough to do for any batter, let alone one whose schedule also includes the grueling demands of pitching development. He stayed healthy throughout 2022, throwing 70.1 innings, and was more effective out of the bullpen than in his late-season starts. Gonzales has begun to track like Keston Hiura, Carter Kieboom, and Jeter Downs, and his swing shares mechanical similarities with both Hiura and Kieboom. on Twitter: "wNS9+ With @longenhagen Discussing the @fangraphs in the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. Its now fair to expect that the current version of Nicolas will be capable of holding down a spot toward the back of Pittsburghs rotation by the middle of 2024. In most cases, corner-only outfielders who play consistent big league roles have better actualized their raw power in games. Hes a fun one cause he had 20 grade defense apparently but scored positive defensively and 30 grade speed but ran nearly 29 feet/second. Thats a very walkable path. His low, short-armed slot is like a righty version of Reiver Sanmartins delivery. Fourth-round high school pitcher Owen Kellington was a participant in the 2021 Draft League and Combine, and looked like an interesting, slow-burning developmental prospect prior to a hamstring injury than ended his 2022 season. Triolo has long been viewed as a glove-first third baseman whod likely have some big league utility, similar to D-backs third baseman Emmanuel Rivera. Thats something to watch as Jones continues to progress through the minors. He will be an unmistakable fixture on Pittsburghs backfields for the next couple of years and is a power-hitting corner prospect of extreme variance. He did not hit well after the injury, but thats typical of hitters coming off a wrist fracture, and a second IL stint due to the wrist was an indication that it was bothering Davis throughout the year. Its possible Flowers strike-throwing consistency will make a big league manager feel secure going to him with consistency in the middle innings, but on stuff he projects more as a near-ready up/down reliever. Hell also show you a 92-96 mph fastball that plays down a bit due to its shape and Jimenezs lack of command, which caused him to walk 5.8 per 9 IP in 2022. On the showcase circuit, he was less whiff-prone than is typical for a multi-sport guy from the Northeast, though he was a pull-only hitter and struggled to contact fastballs in the upper/outer quadrant of the zone. They had a ton of depth and a need to fill their Triple-A roster with external veterans in case of injury, and its likely that they mis-evaluated some of their own players who they should have protected, players like Trey McGough, Cristian Charle, Joelvis Del Rosario, Austin Roberts, Wilkin Ramos, Jared Oliva, and Peter Solomon, all of whom have either been on past prospect lists or were flagged for interesting performance or characteristics during this list cycle. While he has a low three-quarters slot that creates natural tail on his heater, Kennedy can still create riding life at the letters. His arm action is very long, and he bends at his torso as he lunges toward the plate, allowing for more extension during his release, but also creating an uncomfy angle that adds stress to his shoulder. Gonzales hands work in a short, explosive loop. His acrobatics and creativity at third base make him a plus defender there. Aside from the persistent Bryan Reynolds trade rumors, the general industry sentiment is that the team is shifting from prospect collection mode and into a phase where those players start to arrive. Thats the situation were projecting here. Triolos swing and footwork in the box make him vulnerable in a couple of obvious ways (high heat, sliders away), and we dont think the 60-grade hit, 45-grade power profile that he has put on paper so far will hold quite that much water against big league arms. Indeed, of his offerings, only his four-seamer had a whiff rate above the big league average, and he struggled to keep that pitch competitive, only throwing it for a strike 57% of the time. He has basically been the same guy since he entered pro ball, sitting 94-95 with ineffectual shape and a pretty good slider. Obviously the 2021 draft was the big one, and seven players from that class are currently on the list. He went 2-for-4 with two singles, two runs and an RBI on Friday night against Kansas State. This FV grade is commensurate with a mid-first round high school infield prospect. Lopez swings exceptionally hard and makes some mechanical compromises to do so, but not in a way that has impacted his performance yet. Prospects Coverage | FanGraphs Baseball In addition to sending Bradley back to Boston, the Milwaukee Brewers are also sending two of their top-30 prospects. Escotto, 20, was a 40+ FV prospect after his huge DSL season and later became part of the Jameson Taillon trade, but he struggled very badly in 2022 and needed to be demoted back to Low-A. 2023 Updated In-Season Projections Traded from Miami during the 2021-22 offseason as part of the three-player package for Jacob Stallings, Nicolas spent 2022 with Altoona, where he worked 90 innings with a FIP and ERA close to 4.00. In some ways, this makes aspects of De Los Santos data even more impressive, because hes turning around soft DSL pitching with ridiculous pace. Triolo earned industry praise for his defensive aptitude and high marks for his baseball IQ and instincts. From a heuristics standpoint, you cant do much better than Rodriguezs profile. He has now struck out nearly 30% of the time during each of the last two seasons, but hes still performed comfortably above the league average at each stop because of the quality of the contact he does make. His four-seamer was around the same velo as it had been at the alt site, sitting comfortably at 93 mph and maxing out at 95. FanGraphs Baseball | Baseball Statistics and Analysis Harry Ford is one of the top prospects in the Seattle Mariners organization, and he is also unique among his peers. On defense, Rodriguezs size is both a feature and a bug. 2023 600 PA / 200 IP Projections Steamer600. He spent two years at a JUCO before heading to South Alabama in 2020, and he only pitched 21 total innings for the Jaguars due to the timing of his transfer. In his time at Bradenton, Chandler struck out 33 batters over 26 innings, and while his walk rate was an unacceptably high 15.8%, thats actually down a notch from what he was allowing over a larger sample on the complex. Podcasts: . Spending all season at Triple-A, he put up decent numbers, striking out roughly a quarter of opposing batters and allowing just four homers all season. Updated: Saturday, March 4, 2023 4:51 PM ET, Park Factors Cheng entered 2022 coming off an incredible season in which he slashed .311/.449/.492 with twice as many walks as he had strikeouts. Before he was drafted he was considered, at least at FanGraphs, a more likely reliever due to the quality of his stuff. How impactful a starter may depend on how his changeup, currently a tertiary offering, develops at the big league level. Oneil Cruz, SS Video Signed: July 2nd. The emergence of a consistently above-average third offering reignited Burrows projection as a starter (he had been projected as a reliever here in previous seasons, in part due to injuries), and of his 24 outings in 2022, only two came out of the bullpen and just four were shorter than three innings. He would slot among Priester and Ortiz on this list had he completed a totally healthy 2022. When we last saw Swaggerty for a full season of play, he was a 21-year-old whose nine home runs in 120 games was far lower than youd expect from someone with so much raw power playing in a hitter-friendly park. It had exploded even further when he was seen following the pandemic shutdown, as he sat 95-97 mph and was touching 101 during the 2021 regular season. That makes changeup development, or anything that might help him deal with righties, important, and indeed thats already underway Solometo has begun to more heavily incorporate a mid-80s changeup into his pitch mix. Priesters four-seamer is divisive. Its unlikely hell make enough of an offensive impact to be a primary catcher, but hes very likely to spend time on big league 40-man rosters as a second or third catcher. A proactive bullpen move could put him in position to debut in 2024. His delivery has a relief-only look to it. He hit his stride in mid-August with back-to-back scoreless starts in which his four-seamer averaged over 96 across a combined nine innings a high water mark for the season and a true glimpse of his upside. It plays nicely with Flowers plus slider, and he has enough changeup feel to parachute one in against lefties once in a while. Quants and front office analyst types are more bearish, citing issues with Priesters fastball playability. Scouting reports are. Pirates Prospects Daily: Bryan Reynolds Plays Left Field In His Spring 2023 Opening Day Tracker. Juan Jerez, 3B There isnt suddenly big power here or anything like that, but its the start of a physical step that was likely necessary for Cheng to take to play major league ball. He doesnt always look comfortable out there, but his speed makes him viable at all three spots, solidifying his role as a heavily-used role player even without the power production. Spotty command and limited fastball utility push Mlodzinski into a multi-inning relief role. Pathways toward a more impactful role are most likely to be carved by Harringtons command outperforming this projection.