Wait, the Pittsburgh Pirates Really Do Have Talented Players?

Maybe this hype about the Pittsburgh Pirates system being a shambles is just created for Bucco fans to keep complaining about something that isn’t true.  Take a look at the Baseball America top twenty prospects for the Gulf Coast League.

If you are looking for the next breakout player in the Bucs system, the next Alen Hanson or Gregory Polanco if you will, the list from BA is a great place to start.

Tyler Glasnow, Dilson Herrera, Jin-De Jhang and Wyatt Mathisen made the list, which can be seen here.

Mathisen was fifth after being selected 69th overall by the Pirates in this years draft.   The teenager said thanks, but no thanks to the University of Texas and signed with the Bucs and immedately got to work.  We still love his quote:

"“If I get drafted and go high I’m starting my career  early and trying to make my goal to make the major leagues. If it doesn’t work out I’ll wait three years and go to UT and hopefully get another chance at getting drafted again. So either way it’s fun. It’s stressful, don’t get me wrong, but it’s nothing like bad at all is going to  happen.”"

He is  catcher that can hit, a rarity these days with a .295/.388/.374 triple slash for the GCL Pirates.  Another great thing for the Pirates is that Mathisen isn’t the only catcher on the list.

Infielder Dilson Herrera got the nod at number seven.  He was noted for his offensive prowess after leading the GCL with 22 extra base hits and 96 total bases wih seven bombs.  Herrera slugged .482.

Big right hander Tyler Glasnow cracked the top ten at number nine after being a fifth round selection last year.  The post by Baseball America lauded his fastball and curveball, but noted that Glasnow needs to address his changeup and command.

The second catcher was Jin-De Jhang who ranked number 19 on the list.  The Bucs signed him from Taiwan last year and his quick bat got him noticed in the GCL.  The defense of Jin-De Jhang was also touted by Baseball America in the breakdown.

So if the Pirates really are leading the way on prospect lists like this, will it be enough for Bob Nutting to see that Neal Huntington and his staff really are producing future ‘Hell’s Angels’ ready for the big time?

Only time will tell, but regardless if Clint Hurdle, Frank Coonelly, or Neal Huntington are around in 2013, we know for a fact that these four players will be.

Scouting reports can be checked out here