Pittsburgh Pirates: Updated Farm Ranking from Baseball America

The Pittsburgh Pirates are likely going to be adding some more prospects to their farm system.  The team’s farm system could use the help.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have only won two of their last 13 games since the All-Star Break.  The team quickly has seen their playoff hopes disappear.  Not only that, but they also now own the second-worst record in the National League.

With that being said, the Pittsburgh Pirates are likely to be sellers leading up to next Wednesday’s trade deadline.  The Bucs will definitely look to move as many of their pending free agents as possible and could potentially move some controllable players.  Right now, the team will likely entertain deals for outfielders Corey Dickerson, Melky Cabrera, and possibly Starling Marte.  Meanwhile, on the pitching side of things, they will look to deal Francisco Liriano, Jordan Lyles, and potentially Felipe Vazquez.

The Pittsburgh Pirates likely will be able to add some intriguing prospects into their farm system.  This is something that the team needs.  The Bucs system is pretty bottom-heavy (prospects are in the lower levels) right now, and the team just does not look like they have much young talent that could vastly improve this team going forward.

Baseball America recently put out their updated MLB Farm System Rankings.  The prospect site breaks down each team’s system and ranks them from 1-30.  For a long time, the Pittsburgh Pirates saw themselves in the top 10 on these kinds of lists.  Well, according to Baseball America the team now has the 19th rated farm system in baseball.  They note that the team has a strong top 10 but it falls off after.  Part of this is because of how much young developing talent they have in the lower minors.

Still, the team could use a boost in the farm system.  The fact is that the Pittsburgh Pirates are never going to spend the money that fans would like them too.  The best way for them is to build through the farm system.  With the team looking at a potential top 10 pick in next year’s draft, it is obvious that they just are not very good.  On top of that, there is a lot of uncertainty about Jameson Taillon‘s future due to his elbow.

If there was ever a time for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization to hit the restart button, now is it.  They have a lot of assets that they could use to bring back some legitimate talent.  The pending free agents would likely bring in younger intriguing upside prospects (i.e. Tony Watson for Oneil Cruz and Angel German).  Meanwhile, players like Vazquez and Marte could get pieces that could help as soon as 2020.  Either way, the Bucs need to make a decision on how to operate going forward.  Neal Huntington should be very busy selling.