FanGraphs ranks four Pittsburgh Pirates prospects in top 100 overall prospects
The Pittsburgh Pirates have landed four prospects inside FanGraphs's top 100 prospects in baseball
The Pittsburgh Pirates have put four prospects in FanGraphs latest top 100 prospect rankings
The Pittsburgh Pirates have once again landed multiple selections on a top 100 prospects list. On Thursday, the Pirates saw four of their top prospects land on FanGraphs's top 100.
For comparison, before last season, the Pirates last year saw four prospects listed among the top 100 as well as Quinn Priester coming in at No. 108.
The four Pirates prospects ranked inside last season's top 100 were second baseman Termarr Johnson (No. 21), catcher Endy Rodrgiuez (No. 22), catcher Henry Davis (No. 38), and starting pitcher Luis Ortiz (No. 77). Of those four, Rodriguez, Davis, and Ortiz all appeared in the Major Leagues last season.
No. 10 RHP Paul Skenes
There is little surprise to who the Pirates' top prospect is according to FanGraphs as 2023 No. 1 pick Paul Skenes enters the season as the No. 10 prospect in all of baseball according to the popular statistics and analysis site.
FanGrahps assigned Skenes a future value of 60 and is ranked as the highest rated pitcher, one spot ahead of Philadelphia Phillies prospect Andrew Painter.
After signing with the Pirates, Skenes made five starts across three levels of the Pirates minor league system, allowing four earned runs in 6.2 innings pitched. He also struck out 10 while walking two.
The 21-year old out of Fullerton, California is expected to make his Major League debut in 2024.
No. 37 2B Termarr Johnson
The 19-year old second baseman is an exciting prospect thanks to hit strong hitting tools that makes him one of the best young bats in the game.
Last season, Johnson in his first full season in professional baseball hit .244/.422/.438 with 18 home runs and 59 RBI across 105 games with Low-A Bradenton and High-A Greensboro.
While he did take a bit of a dip from last year's ranking of No. 21, Johnson remains one of the game's top prospects including the third best second baseman behind Colorado's Adael Amador and the Chicago Cubs' Matt Shaw.
FanGraphs projects Johnson to make his Major League debut in 2027.
No. 62 RHP Jared Jones
Jones makes his FanGraphs' top 100 debut at No. 62.
The former second-round pick out of La Mirada High School in California pitched for both Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis in 2023, putting together a 3.85 ERA in 26 games including 25 starts while totaling 126.1 innings pitched, an average of just under five innings per game.
In the process of his 126.1 innings pitched Jones posted a strikeout per nine of 10.4 and a walks per nine of 3.6. Barring injury, Jones should make his MLB debut at some point during the upcoming 2024 season.
No. 64 RHP Bubba Chandler
The final Pirate prospect ranked in the top 100 is right-hander Bubba Chandler, who is also being featured on the list for the first time.
Chandler's debut comes after a quality 2023 season in which he pitched in 111 innings across 25 starts, striking out 10.4 per nine while walking 4.1 per nine. He did have a 4.86 ERA allowing 56 earned runs in his 25 starts and did allow 15 home runs but it was still a year with plenty of positives for Chandler. His projected MLB debut is in 2025.