Pittsburgh Pirates Boast Strong Farm System According to FanGraphs

FanGraphs, a very well respected baseball analytics website, released its annual report on the top 100 prospects in Major League Baseball. The Pittsburgh Pirates have six players that made FanGraphs’ top 100 list, which means they have a surprisingly strong farm system entering the 2020 season.

One of the most important tasks for new Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington when he took over the GM position  was to rebuild the team’s farm system. This rebuild started when he traded Starling Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a pair of prospects that both now reside among the team’s top 10 prospects.

However, believe it or not, Cherington will have a good foundation to start with as the Pirates have a large amount of high end talent. While the Pirate farm system hit some rough patches in the latter years of the Neal Huntington Era, the long time GM did not leave the cupboard bare, either. According to FanGraphs 2020 BOARD, which ranks prospects based on advanced scouting and metrics, the Pirates have six prospects in the top 100 prospects in baseball. This article will systematically work thorough those six players, discussing their strengths, weaknesses, and how they can help the Pirates in the future.