Pittsburgh Pirates: Keith Law Ranks The Farm System

Yesterday, Keith Law of The Athletic has released his top farm systems in Major League baseball. Here is what he has on the Pittsburgh Pirates system.

At the end of January, Keith Law of The Athletic released his top 100 prospect rankings.  The only two Pittsburgh Pirates prospects that were ranked were Ke’Bryan Hayes (13th) and Quinn Priester (73rd) with Hudson Head getting an honorable mention.  With the release of the top farm systems, the development of the Pirates can be seen.

While Law has them ranked in the middle of the pack and ranking 16th in baseball, the development of the system can be seen.  He mentions the impact of the trades – Josh Bell, Joe Musgrove, and Jameson Taillon – adding depth and more talent to the system along with the the International Free Agents that the club has signed.  The biggest takeaway is him writing “I think this is a system on the rise for a variety of reasons.”

With the club adding talent in Head and others in trade, along with some of the more interesting prospects from international free agency that we’ve covered here and Baseball America having Sergio Campana as a guy who stuck out, it’s encouraging to see the depth and how the system is transforming.

Ranking 16th comes as a bit of a shock, given the club ranked 14th in his rankings last season and the Pirates have added 11 prospects via trade, Priester has seen his stock rise and the additions in international free agency this winter (Shalin Polanco).  Baseball America has the Pirates ranked 13th among farm systems.

The biggest takeaway from Law though is how the Pirates farm is still rising despite these acquisitions.  With more players getting a full season under their belt in 2021, including first rounder Nick Gonzales, the Pirates should continue to see their farm improving.  The lost minor league season didn’t allow for some of these prospects to be seen fully but the additions and development should see the Pirates farm continuing to rise by midseason.