Pittsburgh Pirates: Prospects That Could Reach Top 100 Status

The Pittsburgh Pirates have some notable top prospects who could start to appear on top 100 prospect boards by the end of the 2022 campaign.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a handful of minor leaguers who can claim they are top 100 prospects. Nick Gonzales, Oneil Cruz, Henry Davis, Quinn Priester, Roansy Contreras, and Liover Peguero are the guys who are generally considered among the top 100. FanGraphs is the only source that doesn’t have all of these names in their top 100, with Gonzales and Priester ranking just outside the top 100 (102 and 105, respectively).

But with a system chock-full of young talent, there will definitely be other names who will eventually reach this sought-after status. By the end of the year, they could potentially see two or three more players make top 100 lists. Among the pitchers with the best chances look no further than Jared Jones.

Jones was a second-round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2020. A flamethrowing high schooler, Jones averages out in the upper-90s but can hit 99 MPH on the regular. He also has a great slider, curveball, and improving changeup.

When the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted him, the question was if he’d have enough control to make his powerful stuff worthwhile. But so far, he’s sharpened it up to where many see it sitting in the average-to-below-average range. He doesn’t need to have pinpoint command 100% of the time with his weapons.

Jones’s 4.64 ERA doesn’t reflect how well he did as a pitcher last year. He had a much better 3.91 FIP and 3.75 xFIP. Jones only allowed home runs at a .82-per-9 pace while having a 34.1% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate. An unlucky .385 batting average on balls in play is what mainly hurt Jones. If not for that, his ERA likely would have been closer to 3.80 or lower.

Jones has the stuff you like to see from young pitchers. A big fastball, two plus breaking balls, a decent off-speed pitch, and command that is sharpening up. He’s only going into his age-20 season, so Jones will easily reach top 100 status if he continues to improve.

Among the top position player prospects in the Pirate farm system Endy Rodriguez is the most likely to appear on top 100 lists by the end of the year. He’s a contact-oriented backstop who hit .294/.380/.512 with a .410 wOBA and 140 wRC+. Although he hit 15 home runs in 434 plate appearances with a .218 isolated slugging percentage, his power projection is still on the downside.

Aside from his elite hit tool, he has phenomenal patience at the plate. Since arriving at the professional level, Rodriguez has yet to strike out more than 20% of the time and walk less than 10%. Last year, he had an 11.5% walk rate and 17.7% strikeout rate.

Aside from his hitting ability, he is considered a good defender behind the dish who brings athleticism to a position where you usually don’t see much athleticism. His framing is so-so, but he has an accurate arm. Rodriguez has moved around the field as he has playing time at first base and the corner outfield spots. With Davis in the system having a backstop with versatility makes Rodriguez a valuable prospect. If he can up his power just a bit, he has an extremely good chance of appearing on top 100 radars.

Michael Burrows is another pitcher on the rise who could keep climbing into top 100 lists. Burrows is known for his fastball, which sits in the mid-90s with an average of 2500 RPM, and curveball with 3000 RPM. He upped his strikeout rate in 2021 to 34.2%, but there were a few downsides. He only had a 29.7% ground ball rate, 4.36 xFIP, and .208 batting average on balls in play.

But his stuff is imposing, but he needs to improve his command or his fringy changeup. It’s the biggest thing holding him back from getting that desired projected starter outlook. He’s trending in the right direction, so it’s not out of the question if he reaches top 100 status by the end of the year.

Two more names worth at least glancing at are left-handed pitching prospect Anthony Solometo and two-way shortstop/RHP prospect Bubba Chandler. Both were projected to go in the first round of last year’s draft but fell to the Pittsburgh Pirates as over-slot picks in the second and third rounds. It’s not impossible to see them reach top 100 status given that they were very highly regarded draft prospects, and showing some improvement could boost their prospect stock. Still, given their age, unless they play a full season in the minor leagues, it’s more likely they will reach top 100 status sometime in 2023.