Still right on the cusp of graduating from prospect eligibility, Kranick made four appearances in the minors to start the 2022 season before being called up to the major league bullpen. Top 42 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates by Eric Longenhagen February 28, 2020 Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The timing of his surgery is more detrimental than that of the other college pitchers, as it ups the odds that he wont (or will barely) pitch in 2023. 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. Alessandro Ercolani, RHP Samaniego looks like a typical second lefty out of a bullpen, sitting 92-94 mph with a deceptive, whippy arm action, and locating his fastball with precision on the arm-side part of the plate. The Pittsburgh Pirates are hiring. His footwork on throws to second is clunky and variable, which often impacts his throw times and accuracy, but the pure arm strength is in there. Hard-Throwers Meanwhile, Chandlers post-promotion production at the plate plummeted to a sub-.200 batting average and an OPS of just .574, thanks largely to a strikeout rate just barely south of 40%; he launched just a single dinger in his 32 Low-A games compared to three in his 14 games on the complex. Across the 2022 calendar, Davis had nearly as many HBPs as he did extra-base hits, to which the wrist fracture likely contributed. He can already land his breaker in the zone and its angle should help it become a viable back-foot offering to righties. Cubs pitching prospect Hayden Wesneski is proving he belongs in his latest Spring Training outing. Ideally, Nicolas can develop an offering that has some arm-side movement, one better than his current changeup that can prevent hitters from sitting on those glove-side locations. This also may have been part of why the Pirates lost so many players (11!) The 11-15 group consists of Jared Jones, Ji-hwan Bae, Anthony Solometo, Kyle Nicolas and Jared Triolo. The powerfully built Kelly, 19, is a squat but loose righty who sits 93-95 mph and throws quality strikes with his fastball. Scouting reports were. Prospects 2022 Top 100 Prospects. 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. Scouting reports are. Middle infielder Termarr Johnson, who the Pittsburgh. Davis plate crowding helps enable his pull-heavy approach. Malone, a former first round high schooler who was part of the Starling Marte trade with Arizona, has barely pitched since he was acquired, and dealt with shoulder injuries in 2022. Hes still the contact-first, chop-and-spray hitter hes always been, an approach to hitting enabled and bolstered by his speed, which allows him to beat out infield singles. Here's a link to the Top 25.. Link to the Top 50.. Link to the Top 75.. Many scouts are champing at the bit over Priesters prototypical frame and four- or five-pitch mix, depending on whether you consider his fastballs two distinct pitches. 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. He and Solometo have the same flavor of stuff wrapped in different packages. Priesters four-seamer is divisive. 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. It can be found here. Hes now 23 but could still be a fifth outfielder. 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. He also threw a smattering of changeups in 2022, though it amounted to fewer than a dozen across his 50.2 innings of work at Double-A, and the changeup didnt show up at all when the Bahamian took the mound for Great Britains WBC squad. 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. Hunter Stratton, RHP He has above-average bat-to-ball skills and very little power. He appears tentative on routine throws and still isnt a sure-handed defender. Even though he was sitting 96-98 in Arizona, Webbs fastball doesnt play like an upper-90s pitch right now, and his mid-80s breaking ball quality is highly variable (lots of 30s, some 50s). Barring a velo bump or another significant alteration to some of the more concerning elements of his profile, he looks like a single-inning up/down reliever. Chandlers pitching performance wasnt as lights-out as it had been pre-promotion, but it was still a display of the rightys potential. However, Priester makes up for it with his preferred secondaries a huge, arcing curveball that Priester has had forever, and a more recently developed mid-80s slider both of which have garnered swing-and-miss rates well above the big league average. Selbys fastball sits 96-98 mph and he looks to blow it past hitters up in the zone. If you want to read me wax poetic about that you can check out my end of year review. Milwaukee Brewers Batting Postseason Stats 2021. He has an interesting long-term body projection and breaking ball combination. 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. 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. A few months later, the Pirates emerged as the word-of-mouth favorite to sign him; he inked a deal for $750,000 in January. Solometos fastball sits in the 88-92 mph range. Obviously the 2021 draft was the big one, and seven players from that class are currently on the list. He pairs it with two above-average secondaries: a high-80s slider with sharp, downward movement that garnered a 48% chase rate against righties, and an 11-5 curveball with a shape that mimics the slider, only slower and looser, which helps keep batters off balance and enables him to pitch backwards. Jimenez has a very good sweeping, upper-70s curveball and creates plus action on a changeup that he sells with fantastic arm speed. Head, who was part of the Joe Musgrove trade, has Kd at a 33% clip in A-ball and might also be in the midst of a swing change that gets rid of his arm bar. FanGraphs released their top 100 prospect rankings on Wednesday. He absolutely towers over his father, who was twice a Baseball America Top 100 prospect but spent most of his pro career in Japan. Could Solometo eventually throw harder? Martin has plus-plus raw power and a 30-grade hit tool, not enough for first base but maybe enough for consideration overseas. Short but not small, his lack of length and size is actually an advantage for Johnsons swing, as he can enjoy a bat path geared for power and lift without it being too long. Roelmy Garcia, RHP Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as our own observations. Scott, Siani, and Campana all have big physical tools and have all struggled badly from a bat-to-ball standpoint. As a right-handed hitter almost all of Endys damage is done on outer-third pitches that he can get fully extended against. 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. Yean, 21, was once a 40+ FV prospect in Washingtons system. His changeup is deceptive against batters in both boxes, but in particular against righties, who have a 40% chase rate on the offering. He was passed over in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft despite his stuff quality because hes so raw as a strike-thrower. Melendez (sitting 97) and Mateo (sitting 95) are upper-level relievers with poor control. Drafted 91st overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021 out of a Huntington Beach junior college, the 20-year-old southpaw not only finished last season in Double-A, he dominated at all three levels where he saw action. Burrows had success as a starter throughout a 2022 season split between Double- and Triple-A before shoulder inflammation effectively ended his season. Even if sliders are a chronic issue for Davis, hell likely still get to enough power to produce better than the average everyday catcher. 1/ . His swing decisions and ability to make contact out front and tap into his latent power improved throughout the season. Righties get a nice long look at everything Solometo does, and he could be very platoon-vulnerable against big leaguers. Pegueros lack of throwing accuracy from shortstop is concerning. His 2022 performance deserves some age-related adjustment, but its possible we saw flaws in Pegueros game exposed by upper-level pitching. Hayden Wesneski is a 25-year-old starting pitcher in the Chicago Cubs system. He was throwing as hard as ever when he returned but still got shelled, and was quite wild at Double-A before he was sent to Arizona to audition to keep his 40-man spot with Kansas City. His Adonis-like physique helps him generate plus pull-side power, and he will show it to you without overswinging he simply lacks bat control and breaking ball recognition. The depth-drive approach has extended to the amateur side of things, where the Pirates tend to spread out their bonus pool to at least a couple of over-slot prospects every year. document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function () { Gonzales had a 68% Z-contact% as a 23-year-old at Double-A. Hes a young, switch-hitting catcher with cartoonish offensive numbers (especially from a bat-to-ball standpoint) and uncommon defensive versatility, as hes played a bunch of second base and left field as well. If he continues missing bats at High-A in 2023, though, Pittsburgh may be forced to add him. Cheng entered 2022 coming off an incredible season in which he slashed .311/.449/.492 with twice as many walks as he had strikeouts. Maikol Escotto, 2B All of the ranked prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. His breaking ball is his best pitch and he could be a lefty relief piece. Pittsburgh Pirates Top 10 Prospects Updated by Marc Hulet September 10, 2018 The Pirates system doesn't have immense depth or a long line of high-impact players but the big league club could. He entered the 2022 spring as a high-probability 40 FV prospect who some scouts thought belonged in the 40+ tier because of pitching approach changes Barco could make in pro ball that might enable a breakout, but he ended up blowing out his UCL and having Tommy John in May. Stratton, 26, sat 94-96 mph in 2022 and has a plus-flashing slider that he rarely throws for strikes. Climbing the minor league ladder often comes with offensive slumps, many of which are cured as hitters accrue at-bats at the more advanced level. wNS9+ With @longenhagen Discussing the @fangraphs Pirates Top Prospect List You found it controversial, so we discussed it Subscribe & Listen http://linktr.ee . In April and May, he posted a strikeout rate of 15.9% and a walk rate of 14.5%; from June to September, he improved those marks to 28.5% and 6.9%, respectively. 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. It felt like the Pirates were slow-playing him a little too much after the pandemic (Nolasco was easily physical enough to go to Low-A in 2021), but perhaps they simply knew he wasnt ready to parse full-season pitching. He spins the hell out of everything that leaves his hand, in particular his slider, which averaged over 2,700 rpm, but his inability to fine tune his command puts a damper on its utility (his walk rate was an untenable 12.4% across his 75.2 innings of work). Jesus Castillo, SS John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. His swing may look different in 2023 and prompt a re-evaluation. So compact and short to the baseball is Rodriguez that he can wait an extra beat to diagnose pitch types, which enables him to make in-flight adjustments to breaking balls, spoil the well-located ones, and crush the hangers. But given his age and the amount of runway still afforded to him, this was seen as a speed bump for his development rather than being of great concern at the time. While especially adept at launching pitches on the inner third, Johnson also shows some ability to shorten up and cover the top and outer edge of the strike zone. He has a pronounced bat wrap. A much deeper overview can be found here. Youll occasionally see a low-90s changeup from Hernandez as well, but hes a relief prospect all the way and likely to stick in Pittsburghs bullpen despite below-average command. This was a four-year rookie-level player who had suddenly been added to the Royals 40-man roster after the 2021 season even though he had all of 32 innings above Low-A. Cristofer Melendez, RHP Most of his swings and misses over the last few years have been on fastballs running away from him, but in 2022, he displayed a more advanced ability to poke the barrel at balls on the outer edge of the plate, extending his short levers in an effort to slap outside pitches the other way. His slider has a sweeping horizontal shape, but his inability to locate it has hampered its utility. Aspects of the offensive profile that made him exciting in the first place are still here, led by Pegueros compact but authoritative swing, which is especially good at punishing pitches at the very top of the strike zone. This is the third year were delineating between two anticipated relief roles, the abbreviations for which youll see in the position column below: MIRP for multi-inning relief pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning relief pitchers. 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. The Pirates are going to develop him at many different positions with the hope that he can provide a late-game upgrade at a couple different spots (hes already very good at third base), serve as righty power off the bench, and work in middle relief. He has the talent to be an everyday player, but has to improve in one or two key areas (throwing accuracy, slider recognition) for that to be his outcome. Any Top 100 prospects, regardless of their ETA, are also included on this list. Nicolas has consistent glove-side command of his entire repertoire, and he tends to live on that half of the plate exclusively. In cases like these, sometimes the things that initially pique your interest, like data and/or available video, are enough to excite on their own even as you acknowledge that the error bars are as wide as can be because of the relative dearth of reinforcing club opinions. 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. Pittsburgh Pirates: Top 10 Players Under Age 26 (as of 4/1/11) 1. There were some signs of offensive progress in 2022. Uribe, 20, is a projectable lefty with a 92-93 mph fastball and high-spin breaking ball. From the left side of the plate, Rodriguez has an exceptional ability to rip his hands through pitches on the inner edge of the zone. Jerez has above-average power and a 70 arm. 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. That pitch plays up against lefties for reasons that are probably obvious, but it isnt a nasty pitch in a vacuum. Hes 19 and struggled over the winter in Australia. Its not a great look to lose half a minor league rosters worth of players in the Rule 5, but that whole group might produce one or two big league role players, which is a small price to pay if theyre byprospects of a bigger group from which the Pirates can pick and choose before exposing the rest to that arcane process. 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. Enmanuel Terrero, OF A two-way high school player, Jones was clearly a superior prospect as a pitcher, as he was one of the most electric on-mound athletes to roll through the high school ranks over the last decade. LSU played . Jackson Glenn, 2B. His on-mound athleticism enables plus long-term command projection, though for right now Harrington really only locates his fastball to his arm side. We considered Glenn a high priority senior sign in the 2021 draft, but he needed to hit all the way up the minor league ladder and didnt do that in 2022. 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. Pedro Alvarez / 3B 2. Andres Silvera, RHP. A 2022 eighth rounder, Nielsens velocity has been up and down depending on when hes been seen, peaking at 94 in 2022 but at 96 in years prior. Be warned that he may hit for huge power at Greensboro in 2023, but the key thing to watch is his strikeout rate. Maggi is, by definition, a Major Leaguer. (2/2/2021) Luigi Hernandez, RHP. As a high schooler, his ultra-low spin splitter seemed like the more promising pitch, but his feel for it has regressed. He showed a velo spike (92-96) at the onset of the 2022 college season before his arm strength and command regressed. Gonzales hands work in a short, explosive loop. He has a wide arsenal, including a changeup and a two-seamer, but tends to rely more heavily on pairing his riding fastball and curveball to keep hitters off balance. His carrying tool is still his defense, especially his receiving, which is crafty and advanced. Carter Bins, C Pegueros pull-heavy style of contact leaves him vulnerable to breaking balls on the outer half, even ones that catch a lot of the plate. Ercolani, an 18-year-old righty from San Marino, had a velo spike during the winter and has been up to 97 mph in the bullpen recently. 11/ . Hes been a fast-mover thus far and looks likely to continue that pattern, with a chance to show up on the big-league roster later this season, though a 2024 big league debut is more likely. Theres still some prospect clout here because of Nolascos power and long-haul physicality, but at this stage, he should be considered more of power-driven flier than a likely big leaguer. Hes poised for a big league bullpen role this season and has a repertoire thats deep and nasty enough that he should be considered a late-inning option. His chase rates were at or below league average across the board, further emphasizing the troubling command. Sammy Siani, LF. He also mixes in the occasional changeup or curveball, which accounted for a combined 11% of his offerings at Low-A. For instance, hes struggled badly on defense, wracking up 46 errors combined the last two seasons. Gorski had a nutty statline at Greensboro and indeed has plus raw power, but its tough to project a real role for a 25-year-old who struck out as much as he did at High- and Double-A. 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. Quick backfield looks at him have his tools in more of an extra outfielder bucket for now. Theyve tripled since his claim-staking 2019 DSL season and Nolsaco Kd at a whopping 34% rate in the 2022 Florida State League. by Retrosheet. To be fair, he was only about average in terms of OAA. Defensively, he has mostly played second base so far in his professional career, with just a handful of starts at short. Hernandez showed up to 2022 spring training with a harder breaking ball than he had previously shown, and as the season went along, he added to his fastball as well. DSL data is noisy, in part because pitchers there dont yet throw enough strikes or with much velocity compared to more advanced levels of the minors. His pop times are routinely in the 1.85-1.95 range in part because Endy has a strong arm, but also because hes almost always leaving his crouch before he even receives the pitch on steal attempts, which hastens his exchange. A proactive bullpen move could put him in position to debut in 2024. Chen is a very advanced righty with a deep repertoire led by his plus changeup. 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. Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was Rule 5 eligible after the season, and hitters who have performed that well at High-A tend to be added to their clubs 40-man roster, but Lopez doesnt have a crystal clear defensive home and his plate discipline needs a lot of seasoning, so he wasnt a real threat to be taken. Its a pretty big lost year of reps for a multi-sport player looking to get traction with the bat in pro ball. His maxed-out frame is cumbersome on the infield, but his footwork at first base has improved a ton since he started playing there, and weve updated our previous DH-only projection. His two-plane slider has nasty, late break and his changeup might have late projection because his arm action is so clean and loose. He went 2-for-4 with two singles, two runs and an RBI on Friday night against Kansas State. Endy had an incredible 2022 statline .323/.407/.590 most of which was generated at hitter-friendly Greensboro. 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. He has the strength to do damage the other way, but save for the occasional pitch on the outer edge, hes geared to pull. He was ranked 25th on the Pirates list at the end of 2022, but we were blown away after watching him on video and seeing some of his underlying DSL data during the construction of this list. Out over the plate, he has a tendency to stay inside fastballs and lift them toward the opposite field gap. Still, his strikeouts come primarily on in-zone swing-and-miss, so its important for the strike-throwing to improve for him to capitalize on his ability to overpower hitters as he continues to advance. More glove-side fastballs might help him set up his sweeping slider more effectively, as that pitch has good-looking movement but wasnt a dominant offering in college. He practically straddles the plate and was hit by 20 pitches during an injury-shortened regular season, then was somehow beaned seven more times in just 17 Arizona Fall League games. 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. Campana, soon to be 21, is the youngest of this group. 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. The power might be enough to make him a 1-WAR player if given regular at-bats in the big leagues, but as a second base-only defender, its hard to find an on-roster role for a player like this if they arent hitting enough to play there all the time. 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. 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. His range, footwork, ability to bend, and overall athleticism are all plus, and it made sense to try to develop him as a shortstop for as long as possible, but Peguero finally saw time at second base in 2022 and a permanent move there will hopefully help him throw more confidently and accurately. DeVito brandishes a five-pitch arsenal headlined by a filthy splitter, but he struggled to locate any of his pitches well enough for them to really complement each other. They have Hunter. 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. While his walk and strikeout rates were both descent through the first half of 2022, only nine of his 57 hits through mid-June went for extra bases (eight doubles and a home run). Back with former Astros pitching coach Brent Strom in Arizona . His quality of contact is very good when he does make it, and is already on par with the typical starting major league second baseman even though hes barely 22. Hes been able to maintain nearly average contact rates despite a pull-heavy approach to contact. FanGraphs Top 43 Pirates prospects blogs.fangraphs Vote 3 comments Best Add a Comment Robert_roberts82 14 min. His swing is already geared for lift, but he doesnt currently have the raw juice to make the most of it. So the question is, was there actual improvement in his ability or is this just noise in the signal? The top 38 spots on the list are all 55 FV or higher. 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. Big league sliders might force Davis to make an adjustment, but so far his contact performance has been solidly average. If this were a high school draft prospect, you would already know his name based purely on how explosive De Los Santos is in the batters box. The Pirates have three of those 38 players, with Termarr Johnson ranked 21st, Endy Rodriguez 22nd and Henry Davis 38th. Antwone Kelly, RHP The depth charts found on the Team Pages are based on projected playing time, NOT the current status of a team's roster. Joness velocity and breaking ball quality (a power, mid-80s slider with vertical action) give him the floor of a really good reliever, especially if he can somehow throw harder an inning at a time. Manual adjustments are made where they seem appropriate, but we use that as a rule of thumb. Thomas 2022 was a tale of two seasons. Juan Jerez, 3B 2023 Offseason Tracker. Pittsburgh Pirates Top 43 Prospects by Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin February 9, 2023 Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports Top Prospects Team Lists 2023 2022 AL NL Below is an analysis. Pirates Reds: NL West. Ricky Tiedemann is one of the fastest-rising pitching prospects in the game. 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. Mason Martin, 1B Plaz had a cartoonish line in the DSL (he slugged over .700), but hes very burly and physically mature for a 17-year-old, so wed like to see him do it stateside. 2023 Updated In-Season Projections The reason why he graded out so positively was due to his arm, gunning down runners like crazy, which was fantastic, and his tool grade for his armwas a 40. Hes now a career .303/.394/.533 hitter and has had meaningful statistical success up through Double-A, where he spent about a month toward the end of 2022. Bolton was able to stay healthy for the entirety of 2022, which was an accomplishment in itself given that his professional career has been plagued by injury since it began. His overall pitch recognition, especially against breaking balls, has become a more noticeable issue.