Pittsburgh Pirates: Eight Prospects Rank in FanGraphs Top 130

Wednesday morning FanGraphs released their updated top prospects list. The Pittsburgh Pirates have eight of the top 130 prospects on their list.

On Wednesday pitchers and catchers reported to Bradenton to kick off Spring Training 2021 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Also on Wednesday, FanGraphs came out with their annual pre-season top 100 prospects list, and if I’m honest, this is one of a few lists I think is the most accurate.

Eric Longenhagen came out with the list early on Wednesday  morning. Longenhagen both posted the list, while aslo discussing each player and gave his reasoning for their position and what they had to offer.

As far as the Pittsburgh Pirates are concerned, they have four in the top 100 and have eight in total in the top 130. Let’s dive into who these eight players are while giving some thoughts on each.

7th Ranked Prospect

To no one’s surprise, Ke’Bryan Hayes cracked the top 10. There is not much else that cen be said about not just one of the most electrifying third basemen in the NL Central but all of MLB. Hayes put up incredible numbers last season, albeit in a small sample size. In 96 ABs, he hit for a .376/.442/.682 slash line along with a .464 wOBA and 1.6 WAR.

Hayes enters 2021 with sky high expectations. Hopefully, we can see him lead the charge for this Pittsburgh Pirates club in the years to come. His floor, in my opinion, is at least a perennial Gold Glove candidate, and I’d be lying if I told you what his ceiling is because I don’t think anyone knows, to be honest. Here’s what Longenhagen had to say about Hayes:

“Hayes is a potential Gold Glove defender who continues to progress offensively with an improved approach and more power.”

46th Ranked Prospect

Now, this is crazy to me, but this is the third consecutive article of mine in which Quinn Priester is discussed. Now I know I’m not crazy when I see his name on yet another top 100 list. This kid is the real deal, and as you heard from him in my interview, he has put in the hard work, and, honestly, I can’t wait to see him in action this year and watch him skyrocket into the rankings.

Don’t just take my word for it, though why don’t you take a look at 2019’s numbers. In rookie-ball, he managed a 3.03 ERA with a 2.96 xFIP all in 32.2 innings pitched. When you take his seven starts into account, he averages around 5.0 innings per start, which is a strong number for a rookie-ball player.

Also, throughout the offseason, there have been few prospects in baseball who have garnered more praise than Priester. Some scouts believe he could be the top pitching prospect in baseball by the end of the season, he was also named as a prospect who could be an impact player in the Majors by 2023. All of this came on the heels of Priester impressing in the instructional league earlier in the offseason.

Longenhagen had this to say about Priester:

“Priester has come on more quickly than most Midwest prep arms thanks to his athleticism and plus makeup, lending greater confidence to a mid-rotation starter projection.”

86th Ranked Prospect

Although this prospect has never played in a professional game it speaks volumes that he is already in the top 100 list. This prospect we ar talking about is 2021 first-round pick Nick Gonzales. Gonzales is one of many up the middle prospects for the Pittsburgh Pirates that has the potential to be an above league average hitter in the Majors. In 2019 Gonzales hit for a strong .432/.532/.773 slash line in 220 at-bats at the NCAA level.

When he showed up on the scene in 2020 at the alternate training site in Altoona, players were saying that he just screamed professional. Mason Martin, another player I interviewed, mentioned he showed up the first day and instantly was drawing attention. Good news for Pittsburgh Pirates fans his ETA to the Majors right now is 2023, which is very exciting.

Honestly, an arrival during the 2022 season is well within the realm of possibility too. Gonzlaes may have the highest floor of any prospect in the Pirate farm system. With his raw hitting ability, he could quickly hit his way to the Majors. I’d expect Gonzales to jump up the list soon as well.

Longenhagen said this about Gonzales:

“Gonzales put up silly numbers (1.249 OPS in 128 games) at New Mexico State and looks like a .300 hitter, but the power is fringy, and he’ll need to slide over to second base as a pro.”

105th Ranked Prospect

Now when you actually look at the numbers this ranking isn’t a huge shock for Oneil Cruz. The 6’7″ shortstop has all of the potential in the world and most likely can hit a ball to the moon, but he has to work on his strikeout rate. When you hear this as a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirate you likely think of Pedro Alvarez but calm down; the kid still has a chance to fix this issue. If he can fix this issue, you could see his 30/35 hit tool number go up exponentially.

In 2019, Cruz’s strikeout rarte did drop slightly from his 2018 numbers from 26.2% to 25.7%. I know that’s a slight change, but progress is progress, in my opinion. I would ideally like to see his strikeout rate be around 18-20% and still produce the power that we all know he’s very capable of having.

Here is a little snippet of what Logenhagen had to say:

“Cruz is among the most gifted players in the sport, and has a penthouse ceiling but a subterranean floor. He could be Aaron Judge or Jairo Beras.”

112th Ranked Prospect

This prospect, in my opinion, is a very under the radar prospect. Liover Peguero came to the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of the Starling Marte trade, and at the time, fans were upset with the trade like usual, but honestly, I loved the deal. You have a prospect in Peguero who will be a plus defender and will consistently hit for contact. Longenhagen mentioned Peguero’s hand speed by saying, “his barrel enters the hitting zone in the blink of an eye, giving him an extra beat to decide whether or not to swing.”

Peguero’s slash line during rookie-ball was .364/.410/.559, as well as collecting 15 extra base hits. Although it is a very small sample size, Peguero put up very good numbers and even had good reports coming out of the alternate site last year. Even though there is a logjam with shortstops and second basemen, Peguero appears to have the highest ceiling of the group at the shortstop position.

Here is the synopsis of Logenhagen’s report:

“While his future defensive home is undefined (other than it being on the infield), Peguero has a present, plus bat tool and developing pop.”

116th Ranked Prospect

One of the most recent acquisitions for the Pittsburgh Pirates cracked this list. Miguel Yajure, who was acwuired from the New York Yankees as part of the Jameson Taillon trade, checks in at number 116 on the list. Yajure, much like Hayes, has already spent time in the Majors. While he may start the season in the Triple-A rotation, odds are, he will crack the rotation in Pittsburgh at some point this season.

His command is probably one of his best attributes, with FanGraphs giving it a future value of 50. His cutter is given a FV of 55, while his four-seamed fastball, curveball and and change up all have a FV of 50.

One thing I was surprised with when I saw Longenhagen’s piece was Yajure offers a five-pitch mixup, which definitely impressive for a 22-year-old. In seven appearances with the Yankees in 2020, he was shaky, to say the least. With command being his thing, I was shocked to see he walked five batters. Longenhagen chalked it up to being young and inexperienced, and I’ll take his word for it. 2021 will be a huge litmus test for the young Yajure.

Here is what Longenhagen had to say to sum it up:

“While he lacks overwhelming stuff, Yajure has seen a velo bump of late while continuing to show outstanding command and pitchability.”

125th Ranked Prospect

Last but not least, we see the final Pirate prospect that cracked the top 130 for FanGraphs is the team’s 2018 first-round draft pick. Travis Swaggerty is one of those prospects you either love or hate; there is no in-between. When Swaggerty was drafted, he was marked as a five-tool player, and at times he has shown that, but his power remains something to be desired. Another issue he needs to work on is the swing-and-miss, having a 22.1% strikeout rate, but it did go decrease from 2018’s number at 25.3%, so there is progress.

In 2019 he posted a decent slash line with .265/.347/.381 along with a .341 wOBA. There were two things that showed some really good promise in his wRC+ at 20% above average at 120, to go with 31 extra base hits in 520 plate appearances. So the potential is there. I’m just left desiring more from the outfield prospect.

Longenhagen had this to say about Swaggs:

“A plus center fielder with on-base skills and a solid approach at the plate, Swaggerty hasn’t developed the power many expected, but the rest of his game remains strong.”

Final Thoughts

I really think this is the makeup for a somewhat successful formula in the Ben Cherington era. If the development team continues to hone in on these player’s skills and maintains a pipeline of minor league talent, we could see a small market team like the Pittsburgh Pirates have success in the near future.