Pittsburgh Pirates: A Mid-Season Recap of the 2020 Campaign

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 30: The Pittsburgh Pirates celebrate after beating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 at Miller Park on August 30, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day, which was postponed April 15 due to the coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 30: The Pittsburgh Pirates celebrate after beating the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 at Miller Park on August 30, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day, which was postponed April 15 due to the coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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TAMPA, FLORIDA – MARCH 10: Ke’Bryan Hayes #77 of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks on during batting practice prior to the Grapefruit League spring training game against the New York Yankees at Steinbrenner Field on March 10, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA – MARCH 10: Ke’Bryan Hayes #77 of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks on during batting practice prior to the Grapefruit League spring training game against the New York Yankees at Steinbrenner Field on March 10, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

The Future

As of writing this, the deadline is just a day away. So by the time you read it, it will be trade deadline day. Meaning that many of the players, like Frazier, Musgrove, Derek Holland, and Williams might be traded by the time you read this. But if they are traded by then, I have faith that Ben Cherington got the most back he possibly could for all of them.

Right now, the Pittsburgh Pirates have the 6th best farm system in baseball and with 6, top 100 prospects, are tied with the Padres for the team with the most top 100 players. The Padres rank 2nd in comparison. With many controllable pieces the Pirates have available to them to trade, they could possibly have a top 5 farm system, or even better after the deadline.

As for the rest of the year, the Pirates will still be playing for the #1 overall pick in the 2021 MLB draft. This is a rebuild year, and anyone who the Pirates can trade for decent prospects, or international bonus pool money should be traded.. Jack Leiter has taken over Kumar Rocker as the best draft prospect by FanGraphs’ rankings. So by the end of 2021, they should have one of Rocker or Leiter on their system.

Schedule