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. 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 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. Even if sliders are a chronic issue for Davis, hell likely still get to enough power to produce better than the average everyday catcher. Reports, tool grades, . Gonzales has begun to track like Keston Hiura, Carter Kieboom, and Jeter Downs, and his swing shares mechanical similarities with both Hiura and Kieboom. 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. Jose Tabata / OF. 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. If a clearer path at third base existed in this org, that might have been enough for us to do it. 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. Alessandro Ercolani, RHP Thats a very walkable path. Readers should note that taking an aggressive line with players like this has yielded predictably mixed results in the past (so far, so good: Kevin Alcantara, Marco Luciano, Alexander Canario, Jordy Vargas, etc. His fastball velocity is down, in the 92-94 mph range, a far cry from Priesters upper-90s peak. If he continues missing bats at High-A in 2023, though, Pittsburgh may be forced to add him. }); Grouped by type and listed in order of preference within each category. 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. Pegueros lack of throwing accuracy from shortstop is concerning. Cheng entered 2022 coming off an incredible season in which he slashed .311/.449/.492 with twice as many walks as he had strikeouts. For now, hes lithe enough for third, where he has a shot to be an everyday player based largely on his power projection. Connor Scott, RF Format = Team Position Player | Age on 4/1/23 | Highest level played | ETA. His low-80s slider, which has late, two-plane bite, has improved considerably and is now an above-average big league pitch. 11/ . While he was already throwing quite hard, Ortiz came into even more velocity in 2022 and averaged 97 mph on his fastball, up two ticks from 2021. Looking forward to fangraphs being wrong Campman92 5 min. Rodriguezs arm is comfortably plus. Still, the teenage pitcher demo is bust-prone and, anecdotally, this seems especially true when the prospect in question already throws really hard at age 17 or 18. 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. 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. Born Harrison Michael Ford, in Atlanta, 20 years ago this week, the right-handed-hitting catcher is the son of English immigrants. Roelmy Garcia, RHP Johnson was a well-regarded prospect basically as soon as he reached high school, and there were scouts who were so excited when they first watched him hit that they considered him a future top 5-10 pick when he was only a freshman. It could stand to have more consistent depth, but the flashes are there, and remember that Kennedy is barely 18. As for the top three prospects on all six lists, their average rankings: Termarr Johnson - 28.2 Endy Rodriguez - 38.5 Henry Davis - 52 John Dreker + posts John started working at Pirates. Acquired in a. Pittsburgh Pirates: Top 10 Players Under Age 26 (as of 4/1/11) 1. Hes already taken a sizable step in the breaking ball department in just two pros seasons. FanGraphs Prospects. 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. Even though both Davis and Rodriguez are near-ready catching prospects, they arent redundant, and in fact they complement each other well. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. 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. He barely played in 2022 due to hamstring, elbow, and hip flexor injuries that cost him all but a couple of games. Cristofer Melendez, RHP Burrows had success as a starter throughout a 2022 season split between Double- and Triple-A before shoulder inflammation effectively ended his season. Hes on the 40-man roster and will likely get a chance to sink or swim on the big league roster in 2023. He showed a tendency to expand the zone and make some sub-optimal contact as an amateur and in his 2022 pro sample, but there are times when Johnson does this and rather than frustrate scouts and analysts, he impresses them with his ability to identify and adjust to breaking balls, his barrel feel, and his hand-eye coordination. 4/5 starter. He pitched for Panamas U18 team in September and showed a good changeup and fair slider as well. Now 24 and neither protected from nor claimed during the 2022 Rule 5 draft, its imperative for him to start throwing strikes more consistently in order to find his way to a big league bullpen. 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. The depth charts found on the Team Pages are based on projected playing time, NOT the current status of a team's roster. Top 35 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates by Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel November 26, 2018 Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pedro Alvarez / 3B 2. Martin has plus-plus raw power and a 30-grade hit tool, not enough for first base but maybe enough for consideration overseas. He had all the markers of a major league-ready Top 100 prospect prior to the injury, largely due to the progression of his changeup and its usage. 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. The average draft position (ADP) included is from Draft Champions leagues from January 19 to February 19 at the NFBC, which you can find here.These leagues draft 50 players and that's all they get for the year no pickups or drops. 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. He used his upper-90s fastball for in-zone whiffs, relying on his above-average slider as a chase pitch. The top of this draft class right now is LSU outfielder Dylan Crews, who had a big weekend. If his defense continues to look like it did in the 2022-23 Dominican Winter League during 2023 spring training, he may quickly be repositioned on this list. Despite all of that, Priester took a hit in a lot of the national prospect outlets, dropping off quite a few Top 100 lists. 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. Davis was on the IL multiple times in 2022 with issues stemming from a small nondisplaced fracture of his left wrist that he suffered when he was hit by a pitch in May. FanGraphs Prospects. 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. Quick backfield looks at him have his tools in more of an extra outfielder bucket for now. 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. If he moves to first base, this will become especially scary. Middle infielder Termarr Johnson, who the Pittsburgh. But Jones athleticism and physical strength drove confidence that he could maintain plus fastball velocity across a starters workload in pro ball (which so far has been true), and his natural breaking ball bite gave him at least one likely plus pitch to go with it. RT @NorthShoreNine: wNS9+ With @longenhagen Discussing the @fangraphs Pirates Top Prospect List You found it controversial, so we discussed it Subscribe & Listen . 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. RotoGraphs. 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. Oneil Cruz, SS Video Signed: July 2nd. Gonzales had a 68% Z-contact% as a 23-year-old at Double-A. A draft-eligible sophomore in 2022, Harrington is an athletic, pitchability righty with a tailing low-90s fastball and a power-sink changeup in the mid-80s. RotoGraphs. Sanchez runs pretty well. 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. 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. This is the case with De Los Santos. He would slot among Priester and Ortiz on this list had he completed a totally healthy 2022. He did not pass. His low, short-armed slot is like a righty version of Reiver Sanmartins delivery. 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. Here are the Pirates' 2023 Top 30 prospects March 1, 2023 Pirates' Chandler going all in on pitching February 28, 2023 Pirates return No. He has a delivery similar to Ubaldo Jimnezs, where his front side flies way open and he tilts out, which helps Kellington get to a vertical arm slot. 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. The barrel-chested Smith-Njigba has huge strength-driven power and a patient approach that borders on passive. He was promoted to Bradenton and fell into a rhythm where each pitching appearance was buttressed by an off day before and after it, with the 19-year-old DHing in the intervening days. Silvera, 18, is a physically mature righty who missed a ton of DSL bats even though he only sits 88-90. Endy had an incredible 2022 statline .323/.407/.590 most of which was generated at hitter-friendly Greensboro. Even with that in mind, any team would be happy to sign a teenager with this kind of stuff for just $750,000 of their bonus pool. Solometo certainly has superficial frame-based projection, but his athleticism and explosiveness are comfortably below whats typical of someone who finds more and more velocity deep into their 20s. Axiel Plaz, C 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. Campana, soon to be 21, is the youngest of this group. Jones checked all but two scouting boxes as a high school pitcher. 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. His slot also helps generate two-plane sweep on his breaking ball. Opinions around Shim vary because he offers less physical projection than is typical in the international talent space, even for an older pitcher. The powerfully built Kelly, 19, is a squat but loose righty who sits 93-95 mph and throws quality strikes with his fastball. The top six were already know from this list, because Fangraphs had six Pirates in their top 100 prospects. 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. Instead, Lopez picked up some reps in the Dominican Winter League, just a few games against the most advanced competition he has yet seen, and is poised to spend 2023 as a 21-year-old at Altoona. Big league sliders might force Davis to make an adjustment, but so far his contact performance has been solidly average. Their top ten, in. 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. White was seen early and often as an underclassman since he went to a Philadelphia high school with University of Virginia outfielder Chris Newell, and would frequently match up against the Siani brothers during varsity play. 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. A proactive bullpen move could put him in position to debut in 2024. The Pirates have three of those 38 players, with Termarr Johnson ranked 21st, Endy Rodriguez 22nd and Henry Davis 38th. He also mixes in the occasional changeup or curveball, which accounted for a combined 11% of his offerings at Low-A. It can be found here. 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. Out over the plate, he has a tendency to stay inside fastballs and lift them toward the opposite field gap. 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. For instance, hes struggled badly on defense, wracking up 46 errors combined the last two seasons. 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. Prospects 2022 Top 100 Prospects. Webb dealt with a forearm strain that delayed the start of his 2022 season. His breaking ball has inconsistent length and he has a relief-only mechanical look, but hes throwing quite hard. March 3, 2023. He still has a pretty exciting hit/power combination for a player his age, showing a proclivity for big contact to dead center and the opposite-field gap, the latter in part due to his length, which causes him to be late. His player page shows him above average in UZR/150, OAA and RAA (although only 1 in each of the latter two). Obviously the 2021 draft was the big one, and seven players from that class are currently on the list. Reports around his once-stellar defense have dimmed, and were hoping its due more to rust and lost time than to an actual regression in ability. Lopez swings exceptionally hard and makes some mechanical compromises to do so, but not in a way that has impacted his performance yet. Jameson Taillon / SP 4. His 2022 performance deserves some age-related adjustment, but its possible we saw flaws in Pegueros game exposed by upper-level pitching. Scouting reports were. But when a potentially significant DSL prospect plays for a rebuilding team, it can be difficult to find other clubs that have pro scouting reports on them. 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. Robert_roberts82 1 min. He threw it 16% of the time (up from 9% the previous season) and induced a 53% whiff rate with this power-action, mid-80s change. Davis skills and offensive style are tailored like those of Evan Gattis. Hes been able to maintain nearly average contact rates despite a pull-heavy approach to contact. Luigi Hernandez, RHP. Injured Arms Because theyre about the same age as high school draft prospects, apples-to-apples projection and tools comparisons are feasible, which then allows you to triangulate where theyd be selected in a draft based on those comparisons and get a sense of how to FV them. He re-emerged in 2022 as a 24-year-old at Triple-A, and had an offensive season commensurate with that of an extra outfield prospect, a lefty stick with more raw power than hed hit for in games, but enough bat to play a bench role provided hes capable of playing center field. 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. He sits in the upper 80s right now but has promising underlying traits and plenty of time to develop. Instead, Triolo looks like hell be a superutility guy. His breaking ball is his best pitch and he could be a lefty relief piece. Hes on track to debut in 2025 as a starter if those issues improve and as a reliever if they do not. These rankings are now available on The Board on the 2023 Fantasy Rankings tab, where you can also see the Top 120 Dynasty Rankings!. Once-Loved Outfielders He mixed in four pitches, with his four-seamer and slider accounting for 88% of his pitches, and the changeup and two-seamer bringing up the rear. An extreme groundball pitcher in a small sample, he allowed just two home runs in 35.2 innings of work in 2022. For the second straight year, he allowed a high rate of home runs, which inflated his ERA. Brennan Malone, RHP. Mechanically, Burrows adds additional length to his 6-foot-2 stature with an over-the-top delivery. His acrobatics and creativity at third base make him a plus defender there. He stayed healthy throughout 2022, throwing 70.1 innings, and was more effective out of the bullpen than in his late-season starts. 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. 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. 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. Pittsburgh to add him to their 40-man roster after the season, indicating that hell be a big league relief option in 2023. He ultimately went fourth overall to Pittsburgh, and because hes a relatively advanced hitter with a mature build, theres a good chance the Pirates move Johnson through the minors pretty quickly if he hits the ground running offensively. Be warned that he may hit for huge power at Greensboro in 2023, but the key thing to watch is his strikeout rate. His slider has a sweeping horizontal shape, but his inability to locate it has hampered its utility. Both can be in the lineup every night because of Rodriguezs defensive versatility and the universal DH, and a more liberal timeshare behind the plate might help keep them both healthier and more consistently productive on offense. While hes played a bunch of shortstop, he is much more likely to wind up on the edge of 3B/1B than he is to see middle infield time at maturity. 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. window.FGWebsite_head_section.buildProspectsListControls(); 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. Anthony began writing over 10 years ago, starting a personal blog to cover the 2011 MLB draft, where the Pirates selected first overall. On defense, Rodriguezs size is both a feature and a bug. 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. Maggi is, by definition, a Major Leaguer. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. Davis plate crowding helps enable his pull-heavy approach. That makes it seem all but inevitable that Chandler will eventually ditch the bat to optimize his development on the mound. He could get a cup of coffee in 2023. 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. 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 range and footwork are great, while his actions and arm are fine. Like his other stuff, his feel for location is better than the movement hes creating on the pitch. 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. If you split his season exactly in half, the improvement is obvious. Those risks apply here. Scott, Siani, and Campana all have big physical tools and have all struggled badly from a bat-to-ball standpoint. His two-plane slider has nasty, late break and his changeup might have late projection because his arm action is so clean and loose. Thomas 2022 was a tale of two seasons. 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.