Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Prospects In The MLB Pipeline Top 100

(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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Third Baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes

2019 season ending ranking: 36
2020 preseason ranking: 41

The Pirates’ best position player prospect fell five spots from the last rankings, and it’s understandable given his slow start in Triple-A Indianapolis. In his first 63 games in Indy, Ke’Bryan Hayes, 22, hit just .245/.336/.398, and hitting just 4 home runs. While power has never been his strong suit, a .398 slugging mark is lower than his 2018 percentage of .444.

But Hayes would miss most of June and part of the first week of July. However the 7-day injured list placement seemed to fix Hayes, as he would go on to finish out the season strong. Through his final 47 games of 2019, the prospect hit the ball at a .290/.337/.435 rate with 6 home runs. Overall, Hayes finished out the 2019 season with a .265/.336/.415 line, 10 long balls, and a 92 wRC+ through 480 plate appearances.

Hayes takes a contact approach to the plate, usually having a high batting average, but low strikeout rates, and having a 55 hit tool but. However he did draw walks at a strong 11.2% rate in 2018. The third baseman is also extremely athletic. His ability to run the bases is given a 55 grade on MLB.com. But his calling card is his fielding. Hayes is given an overall grade of 65 for his fielding and 60 for his arm. No other top third base prospect has both 60+ grades in those categories. Currently, he is ranked as the second best third base prospect, just behind Phillies prospect Alex Bohm.