Pittsburgh Pirates 2019 Top 30 Prospect List

Major League Baseball and the Pittsburgh Pirates are still getting into the swing of the new season.  Here is Rum Bunter’s 2019 Top 30 prospect list for the new season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are coming home to take on the St. Louis Cardinals.  This will be their home opener and second series of the 2019 campaign.  With that, the Pittsburgh Pirates will see their top minor league affiliates get underway this Thursday.  This means that most of the team’s top prospects will hopefully be getting one step closer to becoming true Pittsburgh Pirates one day.  However, fans will also get a clearer picture of how close some of these top prospects are based on what level they are assigned to.

The Bucs Minor League affiliates are led by the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A team.  Double-A and Single-A will be at their traditional spots as well, Altoona and Bradenton.  The biggest change in the minor league system this year is in Low-A.  This year the Low-A team will not be the West Virginia Power, but rather the Greensboro Grasshoppers.

So, who are some of the top prospects that will be spreading out to these affiliates?  Here is Rum Bunter’s Top 30 Prospect list for 2019:

1. Mitch Keller, Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
2. Ke’Bryan Hayes, Third Baseman
3. Travis Swaggerty, Outfielder
4. Oneil Cruz, Shortstop
5. Cole Tucker, Shortstop
6. Cal Mitchel, Outfielder
7. Kevin Kramer, Second Baseman (Will Play Some Outfielder)
8. Bryan Reynolds, Outfielder
9. Kevin Newman, Shortstop
10. Luis Escobar, Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
11. Tahnaj Thomas, Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
12. Jason Martin, Outfielder
13. Pablo Reyes, Infielder and Outfielder
14. Travis MacGregor, Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
15. Cody Bolton, Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
16. Braxton Ashcraft, Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
17. Lolo Sanchez, Outfielder
18. Nick Burdi, Right-Handed Reliever
19. Jared Oliva, Outfielder
20. Steven Jennings, Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
21. Will Craig, First Baseman
22. Ji-Hwan Bae, Shortstop
23. Max Kranick, Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
24. JT Brubaker, Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
25. Stephen Alemais, Shortstop and Second Baseman
26. Rookie Davis, Right-Handed Starting Pitcher
27. Santiago Florez, Right-Handed Pitcher
28. Geoff Hartlieb, Right-Handed Reliever
29. Juan Pie, Outfielder
30. Deon Stafford, Catcher

This list was made by looking into players age, previous year’s performance, career numbers, and projections going forward.  Another big area that we looked at was not only a player’s general statistics but also their sabermetrics.  This helps give a look into how a player may translate to the next level and if their general numbers should regress or progress.

Throughout the season there will be weekly updates on how the team’s top 30 prospects are performing along with write ups on each individual prospect.  With the minor league season starting this week, baseball is officially in full swing.