Pittsburgh Pirates: FanGraphs Top 25 Ranked Prospects

Minors: With the turn of the calendar year upon us, the 2018 Pittsburgh Pirates season is only months away.  With that, many major sites will start to release their updated top prospect lists.

Normally most major sites will not release their updates top prospects list until after the month of January.  This is because the off-season is typically playing out still.  However, teams are still wielding and dealing to improve their roster or to help rebuild their organization.  Of course, this did not stop FanGraphs from releasing their updated top 25 Pittsburgh Pirates prospects.

Their list starts off with no real surprises.  Taking the top spot for the Pittsburg Pirates is right-handed pitcher Mitch Keller.  Keller will most likely be a top 20 prospect in all of baseball.  He had a really good season in 2017 and followed it up with an even better performance in the Arizona Fall League.  One scout called him “far and away the best arm in the Fall League”.  Right behind Keller is the Pittsburgh Pirates top position prospect Austin Meadows.  The key for Meadows entering the 2018 season will be to stay on the field.  Last year he battled a hamstring issue most of the season, and even when he was on the field, one could see that he was not 100 percent. The talent is still there, and hopefully his durability improves.  Number three on the list is Shane Baz, the number 12 overall pick in last year’s draft.  These three prospects will be the consensus top three on every list.  Here is the rest of FanGraphs rankings:

1. Mitch Keller, Right-Handed Pitcher

2. Austin Meadows, Outfielder

3. Shane Baz, Right-Handed Pitcher

4. Cole Tucker, Shortstop

5. Ke’Bryan Hayes, Third Baseman

6. Lolo Sanchez, Outfielder

7. Taylor Hearn, Left-Handed Pitcher

8. Luis Escobar, Right-Handed Pitcher

9. Kevin Newman, Shortstop

10. Steven Jennings, Right-Handed Pitcher

11. Stephen Alemais, Shortstop

12.  Kevin Kramer, Second Baseman

13. Oneil Cruz, Infielder

14. Sherten Apostle, Third Baseman

15. Conner Uselton, Outfielder

16. Calvin Mitchell, Outfielder

17. Will Craig, First Baseman

18. Travis MacGregor, Right-Handed Pitcher

19. Nick Burdi, Right-Handed Pitcher

20. Dovydas Neverauskas, Right-Handed Pitcher

21. Edgar Santana, Right-Handed Pitcher

22. Braeden Ogle, Left-Handed Pitcher

23. JT Brubaker, Right-Handed Pitcher

24. Clay Holmes, Right-Handed Pitcher

25. Pedro Vasquez, Right-Handed Pitcher

Next: A Look at Austin Coley

There are a few surprises on the list, both positive and negative. The negatives that pop out to me are two former first-round picks.  Kevin Newman was a top 100 prospect at one point, and now he has almost fallen out of the Pittsburgh Pirates top 10 prospects.  Meanwhile, Will Craig has fallen out of the Pittsburgh Pirates top 15.  On the other side, two of the Bucs top international signings from recent signing periods have both entered the top 15.  First is Sherten Apostle, who might have the best raw power in the system.  Then Lolo Sanchez ranks sixth and is by far the youngest position player prospect in the Pirates top 10.