Pittsburgh Pirates: Top 10 First Base Prospects

So far MLB Pipeline has released their top 10 prospects by position for right and left handed pitchers and catchers.  Today they released the top 10 first base prospects.  Did the Pittsburgh Pirates have a prospects make a list?

For two consecutive years the Pittsburgh Pirates had one of the top first base prospects in all of baseball.  Starting in 2016, Josh Bell was ranked as one of the top 10 first base prospects in baseball.  Then, before the 2017 season, he once again found himself ranked in the top 10.  Both years he found himself rated at the top of the list.  This made Pittsburgh Pirates fans very optimistic as first baseball has been a dark hole of a position for many years.  Bell showed a lot of promise last season, and he showed why he was so highly touted.

So this year obviously Josh Bell is no longer eligible for the MLB Pipeline’s top 10 first base prospect list.  Today, MLB Pipeline released their top 10 first base prospect lists.  Fortunately for the Pirates, they seemed to have a found their first base man in Josh Bell.  On the updated list, the Pittsburgh Pirates do not have a single prospect make an appearance.  In a way, it is fine due to Josh Bell.  Even Bell was not a top first base prospect at first.  He was drafted and played his first three years in the outfield.  So there is still a chance that the Bucs could eventually move a legitimate prospect to first base.

Pirates Top First Base Prospect

Since the Buccos do not have a top 10 first base prospects currently, who is the Pittsburgh Pirates top first base prospect in the organization? As of now the top prospect is 2016 first round pick Will Craig.  Craig was drafted out of Wake Forest as a third baseman.  However, he made a full switch to first base at the start of the 2017 season. Craig is currently ranked as the Pittsburgh Pirates number nine overall prospect by MLB Pipeline.

The 23 year old Craig played all of last season at High-A Bradenton.  Although he did not put up a stellar season, he had a relatively solid first full year.  For the Marauders he had a slash line of .271/.373/.371.  Looking at that, it is obvious that Craig did a great job of getting on base.  He had played in 123 games and had 124 hits, 63 walks, and was hit by pitch 16 times.  So all in all he got on base 203 times in his 123 games, which is exactly why the Pirates invested a first round pick in him.

On the other side of things he did put up much in terms of power.  Craig only slugged .371, although he did have a 123 WRC+ which suggests he was above the average.  He only had six home runs, but that number should go up.  He is 6’3” and 220 pounds so he definitely has the projection to add more power.  What the power will come down to is when he learns to sacrifice some in terms of making contact versus swinging with more authority.

Next: Top 10 Catching and Lefty Pitching

Lack of Depth at First

Outside of Craig, the Pittsburgh Pirates do not have a lot of depth at the first base position.  As stated earlier this is not exactly a position the Bucs have tried to build depth up at.  Chances are down the road that the team will look to transition players of less defensive caliber to the often less demanding position of first, like they have with Craig. First base has always been viewed as a bat only position.  Now Pittsburgh Pirates fans have learned that it cannot always be the case, via Pedro Alvarez.  Still, teams normally spend high draft picks on first baseman due to their bat.  The Pirates normally do not invest in players who are one dimensional.  So for now, Will Craig is most likely the only prospect who could work his way into the top 10 conversation.