FanGraphs released their top 100 prospect rankings on Wednesday. FanGraphs Top 43 Pirates prospects blogs.fangraphs Vote 3 comments Best Add a Comment Robert_roberts82 14 min. Lolo Sanchez, CF The Pirates snagged him in Decembers Rule 5 draft, making him only the second lefty reliever on their 40-man, so hell likely be called upon for consistent use out of the big league pen in 2023. 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. Chen is a very advanced righty with a deep repertoire led by his plus changeup. The ETAs listed generally correspond to the year a player has to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. His low-80s slider, which has late, two-plane bite, has improved considerably and is now an above-average big league pitch. Carter Bins, C His fastball velocity is down, in the 92-94 mph range, a far cry from Priesters upper-90s peak. 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. 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. His slot also helps generate two-plane sweep on his breaking ball. Theyve tripled since his claim-staking 2019 DSL season and Nolsaco Kd at a whopping 34% rate in the 2022 Florida State League. Scouting reports were. Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Oliver Mateo, RHP He has a short arm action, which aids in his command, though refining his location will likely be the order of the day upon his return from injury as he continues to work out of the Pirates pen. 76. Unlike the other lists released yesterday, Fangraphs has not posted their top 100 prospects list yet, so we didn't already have some idea of the top of their list. Isaias Uribe, LHP Shim is a big, physically mature righty with huge present arm strength, creeping into the upper 90s. Pirates Reds: NL West. 2 prospect to Minors camp after injury February 24, 2023 Bucs invite top prospects Davis, Johnson, Priester to camp February 2, 2023 Shim realizes first part of dream as prospect signs with Bucs January 26, 2023 The husky Nunez swings really hard and generates big peak exit velocities. Silvera, 18, is a physically mature righty who missed a ton of DSL bats even though he only sits 88-90. 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. 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. From that point on, however, Triolo walked more and struck out less, such that both rates sat in the mid-teens, while flipping the slugging switch on to the tune of 13 doubles, five triples, and eight home runs over the course of the same number of games. While likely of low impact, Solometos feel to pitch will almost certainly enable him to be a big leaguer of some kind, either a backend starter or long reliever. JP Massey, RHP Connor Scott, RF 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. 2018 Brewers batting, pitching, and fielding traditional and advanced stats. To that point in the season, his mid-teens walk rate had inspired guarded optimism regarding an improved approach, though Nunez also may have become intentionally passive, as his raw swing% was a minuscule 40%. His mother spent her childhood in London, while his father "a real Brit; he still has an . 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). Brennan Malone, RHP. Pro teams are more open to east/west fastball operation and the Pirates might be able to coax more sweep out of Harringtons slider, though Campbell does a pretty good job developing pitchers, so there may be less developmental meat on the bone here than youd guess considering hes coming from a smaller program. He is a 6-foot-5 20-year-old, after all. 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. Chandler started the 2022 season on the complex, where he showed two-way promise, slashing .231/.444/.654 over 36 plate appearances while annihilating opposing batters, issuing 27 strikeouts and giving up just three hits without allowing a run over 15.1 innings. This level of athleticism might be an indication that Rodriguez will find a way to mature into more raw power despite not having a traditionally projectable frame. Top 51 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates by Eric Longenhagen February 24, 2021 Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Pittsburgh Pirates. His swing decisions and ability to make contact out front and tap into his latent power improved throughout the season. As a wrap-up, the Pirates have. 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. 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. Hunter Stratton, RHP Its bat-missing capabilities are limited to the bottom arm-side portion of the zone, where this two-seam-ish fastball tends to finish. It sounds like Brannigan is going to develop as a two-way player. The Pittsburgh Pirates are hiring. Barcos long, low arm slot creates a flat approach angle, but hes not really inclined to climb the ladder and pitch at the top of the zone right now, instead living on the arm-side third of the plate with sink and tail. Gonzales has begun to track like Keston Hiura, Carter Kieboom, and Jeter Downs, and his swing shares mechanical similarities with both Hiura and Kieboom. Even though hes so young, youre not really projecting on his frame in a positive way so much as it feels possible Kennedy could have impact command at maturity, because his delivery is so effortless and the quality of his fastball strikes so advanced. The FanGraphs prospect team presents their 2022 top 100 list . We added RosterResource's Depth Charts; these reflect a team's current. 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. Quants and front office analyst types are more bearish, citing issues with Priesters fastball playability. His breaking ball has inconsistent length and he has a relief-only mechanical look, but hes throwing quite hard. 4/5 starter. The clubs hit rate on these trades per prospect isnt great, but the hit rate per trade has been better than that because of their risk-mitigating approach. Eddy Yean, RHP As of list publication, Rodriguez is one of just two catchers on Pittsburghs 40-man roster, and while its possible hes beaten out by a veteran non-roster invitee like Tyler Heineman, Rodriguezs defensive chops and versatility give him a shot to break camp with the big club, split time with Austin Hedges, and moonlight at one or two other positions before eventually seizing the primary catcher job. He has the strength to do damage the other way, but save for the occasional pitch on the outer edge, hes geared to pull. M.J. Melendezs 2019 and Bo Naylors 2020 are recent examples of otherwise good-hitting catchers who had a terrible offensive season in the mid-minors that was followed by an immediate and significant rebound the following year. His delivery also creates an odd angle on a mid-80s cutter/slider, which Solometo commands to his glove side. Vilade spent some time near the top of the Rockies list due to his feel for contact. Defensively, he has mostly played second base so far in his professional career, with just a handful of starts at short. The depth charts found on the Team Pages are based on projected playing time, NOT the current status of a team's roster. The 2021 edition of this list featured some carping about Eric Longenhagen ranking Gabriel Moreno in the 100, because he was the exact kind of player who might not have been highly regarded in earlier eras of public prospect evaluation but who had all the markers of future success. He went 2-for-4 with two singles, two runs and an RBI on Friday night against Kansas State. His slider has a sweeping horizontal shape, but his inability to locate it has hampered its utility. It could stand to have more consistent depth, but the flashes are there, and remember that Kennedy is barely 18. Pegueros lack of throwing accuracy from shortstop is concerning. He moved into a minor league relief role 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. So the question is, was there actual improvement in his ability or is this just noise in the signal? He has become meaningfully stronger over the last year and has more of a balanced, low-ball swing now, as opposed to the slash-and-dash style of contact in his pro debut. The type of contact he makes is unlikely to ever lead to home run power commensurate with a true everyday player, but Bae makes enough stinging, all-fields contact that he projects to hit plenty of doubles and triples. (One weird scouting note: Peguero chokes up with two strikes, but only with his top hand, creating separation between his two hands la Kevin Youkilis.) He pitched for Panamas U18 team in September and showed a good changeup and fair slider as well. Enmanuel Terrero, OF FanGraphs Prospects. While he has a low three-quarters slot that creates natural tail on his heater, Kennedy can still create riding life at the letters. Hes on track to debut in 2025 as a starter if those issues improve and as a reliever if they do not. 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. Matt Gorski, OF Amid a couple of short IL stints in 2022, Selby put up impressive numbers split between Double- and Triple-A and then looked great in the Arizona Fall League. When healthy, he was a hard-throwing 40 FV reliever. He barely played in 2022 due to hamstring, elbow, and hip flexor injuries that cost him all but a couple of games. In some respects, its easy to assess DSL players. The pitch has natural tailing action, but Ortiz can also blow it past hitters at the letters when he wants, and his TrackMan data shows hes mixing in four- and two-seamers in the locations where theyre most effective. feels like the more realistic path to an eventual 45-grade role, or above. Blake Cederlind, RHP He was one of the younger players available in the 2022 draft and yet at a listed 205 pounds, Kennedy is more physically mature than most of his peers, even some who are a year or two older than he is. To be fair, he was only about average in terms of OAA. Hes an arm strength reclamation project with a shot to pitch in Pittsburghs bullpen. He has above-average bat-to-ball skills and very little power. Here are the Pirates' 2023 Top 30 prospects March 1, 2023 Pirates' Chandler going all in on pitching February 28, 2023 Pirates return No. A fresh start with a new org (he was a waiver claim this offseason) might help him find a swing that produces more power. He walked more than a batter per inning in 2022. Dombkowski is a lefty whose high-80s fastball plays up thanks to his low arm slot and excellent command over his above-average secondaries. He has an interesting long-term body projection and breaking ball combination. 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. Lopez swings exceptionally hard and makes some mechanical compromises to do so, but not in a way that has impacted his performance yet. Hudson Head, CF The high-waisted Lopez has a wide range of athletic/mobility outcomes that will impact where he ultimately ends up on defense. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2021, the 25-year-old right-hander has a degree in microbiology and premedical studies from Oxford, Ohio's Miami University, and he has worked as a . 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 will be an unmistakable fixture on Pittsburghs backfields for the next couple of years and is a power-hitting corner prospect of extreme variance. Pittsburgh to add him to their 40-man roster after the season, indicating that hell be a big league relief option in 2023. He has a career .387 OBP but hasnt been able to actualize his plus raw power in games, driving the ball into the ground at a whopping 66% clip in 2021 and a 54% rate in 2022. He spent more of his big league time in the outfield than at his native second base. 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. Jackson Glenn, 2B. Like his other stuff, his feel for location is better than the movement hes creating on the pitch. 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. Very Young Prospects to Monitor 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. Endy had an incredible 2022 statline .323/.407/.590 most of which was generated at hitter-friendly Greensboro. Despite all of that, Priester took a hit in a lot of the national prospect outlets, dropping off quite a few Top 100 lists. 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. 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. Nolasco had two years of surface-level statistical success in rookie ball and the huge exit velos to match, but now after three pro seasons, his strikeout rates show a troubling upward trend. If it does, he should be a 50, and that grade was discussed during the Pirates list-making process. Sergio Campana, CF Opinions around Shim vary because he offers less physical projection than is typical in the international talent space, even for an older pitcher. He commands it consistently enough to his glove side to project as a starter. Cristofer Melendez, RHP 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. If you split his season exactly in half, the improvement is obvious. Alessandro Ercolani, RHP 1/ . 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.