Pittsburgh Pirates Minors: Several Prospects Receiving Praise

On Thursday, several prospect from the Pittsburgh Pirates received praises from either Baseball America or MLB.com. These players were third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, starting pitcher Quinn Priester and third baseman Alexander Mojica.

Hayes was recognized in an article that highlighted the top defensive prospect in each of the thirty MLB team’s farm system. Hayes being listed for the Pittsburgh Pirates should come as no surprise to anyone, as he has been insanely good with fielding his whole pro-ball career. This continued his short MLB time last season when he posted a +4 Defensive Runs Saved and a +3 Outs Above Average.

Hayes has had a fielding percentage of over .974 during his last three minor league seasons. The best of which came in 2019 when he has a .990 fielding percentage. This remarkable ability did not go unnoticed during that stretch either.

Hayes was only the second player in history to win the MiLB Gold Glove award three years in a row. This as a result is why he is considered the best fielding prospect not only in the Pirate farm, but one of, if not the best in the whole league.

Next, Priester and Mojica were listed as part of the top 13 players to have a chance for a breakout this season. Priester does not come as a surprise, since Baseball America has been hyping him up for weeks now, but Mojica definitely does.

Mojica is an eighteen year-old third baseman prospect, with his only pro action coming in the 2019 Dominican Summer League. During this season Mojica was only16 which was 1.8 years younger than the average player for that league.

He did not let this intimidate him though, as he managed to slash .351/.468/.580. He also had a league leading 1.048 OPS. Additionally, he hit eight home runs and managed to walk three more times than he struck out. The numbers respectively for that were 37 walks and 34 strikeouts.

These kind of stats would be impressive for anyone let alone a sixteen-year-old. If he can keep these kinds of stats up as he continues his young career, Mojica will definitely be putting the whole league on notice.

With prospects like these three gaining so many praises from national media, Pirates fan should be excited for the future. If this farm keeps heading in the right direction, this team will be so fun to watch transform over the next few seasons.