Pittsburgh Pirates: Projecting the Team’s 2023 Line Up

By 2023, most of the Pittsburgh Pirates top prospects will be ready to see some major league action. So, what could their line up look like a few years down the road?

In a couple of years, the Pittsburgh Pirates could have a really deep line up. One that includes multiple all-stars, and even some that might get MVP consideration. Currently, the MLB roster isn’t that great, but, by 2023, the line up should be contender ready once again.

Currently, the Pittsburgh Pirates have the 6th best farm system in all of baseball according to FanGraphs. At the beginning of 2020, it was ranked as the 5th best. They have five, top 100 prospects, and one who sits just on the border of top 100. However, many more could join them depending on if they develop as planned.

Even if not every single prospect develops as planned, their farm system is so deep, that they have multiple routes to go if a prospect at a position does not pan out.

In three years, what could we expect to see the Pittsburgh Pirates line up look like? Read on to find out!

First Base: Mason Martin

2023 Opening Day Age: 23

The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Mason Martin in the 17th round of the 2017 MLB Draft, and has risen to notable prospect status. He is currently ranked as the team’s 18th best prospect, but that’s still pretty good considering how good the Pirates’ system is.

Martin broke out in a big way during 2019. Starting the year off at Low-A, Martin hit .262/.361/.575. He also slammed 23 home runs and 19 doubles, all coming together for a 164 wRC+ across 355 plate appearances. Although he didn’t hit as well when he was moved to High-A, he still was an outstanding batter. His final 201 plate appearances of 2019 saw him post a .239/.333/.528, hitting 12 more long balls and 13 more doubles. All told, he had a 155 wRC+ at High-A.

Obviously, Martin has some serious power potential. Not only did he hit 35 home runs, and have a total of 71 extra base hits, but he has a 60 future game power grade and 70, both current and future, raw power grade. He already averages 91 MPH off the bat at just 21-years-old.

There are a few questions though. One, Martin only has a future 40 hit grade, in part because of his strikeout rate. He struck out 30% of the time in total between the two levels. But considering how hard he can hit the ball, and he still walked at a strong rate of 12.2%, Martin’s potential with the bat shouldn’t be put to too much question.

Fielding wise, he grades out as an average fielder with a future of 50 which is more than adequate considering how good of a batter he is. While he does have experience in the corner outfield, his future is first base. He has a weak arm, a 45 current and future grade to be exact, and a 40 current/future run grade. Still, an average fielder who can hit .260/.360/.550 a year, and crushes 30-40 home runs a season is still going to get recognition.

Other possible options: Alexander Mojica

Second Base: Nick Gonzales

2023 Opening Day Age: 24

Nick Gonzales could have a short trip through the minors if he can continue to crush the ball like he did in college. The Pirates’ selected Gonzales in the first-round =during the most recent draft. Gonzales was obliterating the ball before the season ended short. Through his final 82 NCAA plate appearances, Gonzalez had 26 hits. 12 of which were home runs, and three were for doubles.

All told throughout his college tenure, Gonzalez hit .399/.502/.747 with 37 home runs, 39 doubles, and 13 stolen bases through 128 games and 596 plate appearances. Now, sure, he was hitting in a hitter friendly environment. But you don’t just have a .747 slugging percentage and average 47 home runs per 162 games on favorable conditions alone.

Plus, he only struck out 13.2% of the time and walked 15% walk rate, which already goes to show he has incredible pitch recognition and plate discipline. He’s already appearing on prospect radars as FanGraphs has him ranked as the 91st best prospect in baseball already.

While the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Gonzalez as a shortstop, he isn’t necessarily an Andrelton Simmons-level fielder. However he would probably grade out as an above average defensive second baseman. Gonzalez has power, a great hit tool, Juan Soto-level plate discipline, and isn’t a bad runner. Is it too early to call him a potential MVP candidate?

Other possible options: Ji-Hwan Bae, Kevin Newman

Third Base: Ke’Bryan Hayes

2023 Opening Day Age: 26

If there’s anything that’s for sure about Ke’Bryan Hayes, it’s his defensive ability. He’s one of the best fielders in the minor leagues, regardless of position. FanGraphs gives his fielding ability a current of 60 with a future of 70. He also has a strong arm with a 60 current/future grade.

Not only is Hayes a fantastic fielder, but he can run a bit too. In the past three seasons, Hayes has stolen 52 bases in 63 attempts. FanGraphs sees him as a future above average runner with a 55 speed grade.

Batting wise, he did struggle at Triple-A but mostly for the first half. He only hit .245/.336/.398 before the All-Star Break, but .290/.336/.435 post-break. However, he did really well at Double-A a year prior. In 2018, he hit .293/.375/.444 with 31 doubles, and a 129 wRC+.

Hayes’ biggest issue in 2019 was his ground ball rate. He only had a 40.3% ground ball rate in 2018, but at Triple-A the following year, that rose to 46.3%. Hayes makes really hard contact. His average exit velocity was 92 MPH, which is one of the highest among all prospects, and is right on par with big time power hitting prospects like Jo Adell, Joey Bart, and Marco Luciano.

In comparison to the MLB, a 92 MPH exit velocity, which is exactly what Juan Soto had, would place him in the top 94th percentile of all MLB batters. While his game and raw power tool sit in the average range, he still has a plus hit tool of 55 future. Hayes has the potential to be a .290/.360/.430 hitter in the future, along with some of the best glove work in all of baseball. That’s shown in his placement as the 30th best prospect in baseball, and could climb into the top 25 by the end of the year if he still has prospect status.

Shortstop: Liover Peguero

2023 Opening Day Age: 22

It’s really, really hard to predict who’s going to be the Pirates’ starting shortstop, even just a year from now. Currently, Cole Tucker should be the team’s starting shortstop by the end of 2020, but that could also still be Kevin Newman after his notable 2019 rookie campaign. However, that still leaves in question Ji-Hwan Bae. But for now, I think Liover Peguero is a safe bet to eventually be a starting cog for the team sometime in 2023.

Peguero was the centerpiece in the Starling Marte deal, and currently ranks as the 103rd best prospect by FanGraphs, and the team’s 6th best prospect. He’ll likely be a top 90 prospect by the end of the season once prospects like Luis Robert, Jesus Luzardo, Nate Pearson, Sean Murphy, and a handful of others graduate prospect status.

Peguero did really well for himself with the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Rookie-ball affiliate. Through 156 plate appearances, Peguero was hitting .364/.410/.559 with five home runs, seven doubles and three triples. While his walk (7.7%) and strikeout (21.3%) rates weren’t necessarily fantastic, remember he was still just 18 and posted a 153 wRC+.

When the D-Backs moved him to Low-A ball, Peguero only hit .262/.333/.357 with four doubles, two triples, and no home runs. However, he did see improvements to his plate discipline as his strikeout rate fell to 18.3% and walk rate jumped to 8.6%. Remember though, his Low-A numbers came in just 93 plate appearances.

Still, Peugero has a 60 future hit grade, but power tools identical to Hayes. A 40 future game power and 50 future raw power grade. He still has a 90 average exit velocity, so he’ll be able to drive the gap with some authority. He’s also a plus runner with a 60 current/55 future speed grade. Fielding wise, he grades as an above average shortstop, ranking with future 55 grades for his arm and fielding skill. While he isn’t a top 100 prospect, that could change very soon as he still ranks just outside the top 100 at 103. A handful of prospects are getting regular reps at the major league level, so he’ll probably be in the top 95 by the end of the year.

Other possible options: Ji-Hwan Bae, Kevin Newman, Cole Tucker

Left Field: Bryan Reynolds

2023 Opening Day Age: 28

Bryan Reynolds entered 2019 as a pretty un-notable prospect. He didn’t rank in the top 100, and entered the 2019 season as the team’s 9th best prospect when they had a pretty average farm system. However after injuries to Corey Dickerson and Gregory Polanco, Reynolds got a shot for regular playing time and ran away with it.

Through the first 546 plate appearances of his career, the switch hitter had a .314/.377/.503 line, and hit 16 home runs. More notably, he hit 37 doubles. Among rookies with at least 300 plate appearances, Reynolds ranked 5th in wRC+ (131), wOBA (.371) and OPS. While some may worry that his .387 batting average on balls in play made him a bit lucky, you shouldn’t expect much regression. Not only can he hit to all fields, but he also had a .378 career minor league BAbip, yet still hit .312/.373/.472.

Defensively, he’s nothing to write home about as he had +5 DRS, and zero range runs above average, but -3.5 arm runs above average and -3.5 UZR. While he posted his best defensive numbers in right field (+3 DRS, 0 arm runs, .5 range runs, 0.6 UZR), his best long term position is left field considering his weaker arm that only has a 40 current/future fielding grade.

Center Field: Travis Swaggerty

2023 Opening Day Age: 25

The Pirates’ first-round selection in 2018 has shown he can be a future Gold Glove candidate, and be productive with the bat at the same time. Travis Swaggerty has a future 60 fielding grade, and future 60 throw grade by FanGraphs. This makes him the second best fielder in the Pirates system, and is a top 10 defensive outfield prospect in all of baseball.

Not only can he field and has a strong arm, he also can cover a lot of ground. Swaggerty stole 23 bases, and has a 65 current and future speed grade which helps him track down balls in center while also rounding the bases at a good rate.

Batting wise, there’s still some questions. Swaggerty did really well in his first 158 professional plate appearances, hitting .288/.365/.453 with a 140 wRC+. He finished out the 2018 season at A-Ball hitting .129/.225/.226 through just 71 plate appearances. Last year, Swaggerty got off to an awful start at High-A hitting .221/.318/.329 before the all-star break, but then went on a tear and hit .306/.375/.430 throughout the rest of the season. Despite the slow start, Swaggerty still had a really solid 120 wRC+, 10.9% walk rate and .341 wOBA.

Swaggerty has a future 50 hit tool, and future 50 game power tool. However he has potential for more with a 60 raw power grade, both current and future. Currently, he ranks as the 63rd best prospect in baseball according to FanGraphs. A good comp could be Jason Heyward from 2011 to 2014 when he hit .262/.351/.429 with a 114 OPS+. That’s really good production considering that both are elite defenders.

Other possible options: Jared Oliva

Right Field: Oneil Cruz

Opening Day Age: 23

The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Oneil Cruz in the trade that sent Tony Watson to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and it was one of the last really good trades former general manager Neal Huntington made during his Pirates’ tenure. Currently, Cruz is the Pirates’ best shortstop prospect, and the 5th best shortstop prospect in all of baseball. But with Peguero, Newman, Tucker, and Bae with Gonzales who both have experience at short, all potential long term options at short, Cruz is going to have to find a new defensive home. That new home is likely going to be right field.

Cruz has an outstanding arm that would fit in right field. Originally a third base prospect with LA, Cruz has always been praised for the power that he can generate. His arm has a current and future grade of 80, which is the best possible grade on the 20-80 scale all prospect grades are based on.

Power wise, his 6’7, 210 frame gives him a lot of leverage. Cruz has a 60 future game power grade, but an extremely impressive 80 future raw power grade. He’s put his power on display through the minors. In 2018, Cruz hit .288/.343/.488 with a 134 wRC+ through 443 plate appearances at the Low-A level. Cruz crushed 14 long balls, and had a .201 isolated slugging percentage.

Last year, Cruz was demolishing the ball at High-A hitting .301/.345/.515 with a 154 wRC+ through 145 plate appearances. Not only did Cruz get his slugging percentage above .500, but his ISO of .213 was the highest of his career.

While Cruz didn’t hit for much power when he was moved to Double-A, he was coming off a wrist injury when he was promoted, but showed a good amount of improvement with plate discipline. After walking just 5.5% of the time before his promotion, he was drawing a walk 11% of the time during his short Altoona stint. Currently, he ranks as the 32nd best prospect in baseball, and still climbing the list.

Currently, Cruz is an average to below average shortstop, but shortstops are usually the most athletic players on the field. He would probably be a pretty solid defensive right fielder. Plus he isn’t slow either. He has stolen 41 bases throughout his 336 game minor league career.

Designated Hitter: Jack Herman

2023 Opening Day Age: 23

Right now, there isn’t a guarantee that the designated hitter will be in the National League. But considering that the MLB is already trying it out in 2020, and was going to have it in 2021 if they played more than 60 games, it seems like an inevitability that the universal DH will be implemented sooner rather than later. So, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have to decide on a DH of the future.

Jack Herman is another notable outfield prospect who has some pop. Last year at Low-A, the slugger hit 13 home runs in 300 plate appearances, and had a .464 slugging percentage. Both his raw power and game power have a future of 55. He also put up a strong .208 isolated slugging percentage. All told, he had a .257/.340/.464 line and 134 wRC+. Herman has 55 future grades for his raw and game power, but only a 40 future hit tool. Still seeing as he draws a decent amount of walks, Herman will get on base a decent amount.

Herman only grades out as an average fielder with a 50 future fielding grade. He also isn’t super fast with a 40 speed grade. However what he lacks in overall range he makes up for with an extremely strong arm. Herman had a 60 current/future arm grade. Herman threw out 11 runners in just 612 innings in ‘19. With the lack of range, and if his fielding doesn’t improve while his hitting does get better, Herman could be the team’s next DH, that is if there is one. Even if there isn’t a DH by then, Herman could also be another option for right field.

Other possible options: Alexander Mojica