Pittsburgh Pirates: All-Time Non-Top 100 Prospect Team

Not every MLB star was a top 100 prospect in their minor league careers, but who were the best non-top 100 prospects to have ever played for the Pittsburgh Pirates?

In 1990, the first top 100 prospect list published by a major publication was released to the public. That was Baseball America’s top 100 list with Atlanta Braves’ pitcher Steve Avery coming in at no. 1. Since then, many other publications, including MLB Pipeline, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, and many more have become mainstream for fans and analysts to turn to when evaluating players in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system and every other in baseball.. 

However, there have been plenty of great players since 1990 who weren’t considered the cream of the crop when it came to minor leaguers. Plenty of non-top 100 prospects have flourished in the major leagues, despite the lack of prospect attention. The Pittsburgh Pirates have also had plenty of good players during that time who weren’t top 100 prospects.

Today, that’s the kind of former players I want to examine: the best Pirates players to never rank top 100 on any major prospect publication. The former Pirate doesn’t necessarily have to have been with the Pirates at the time of the ranking. The only qualification is that they never were on any top 100 prospect list.

First Base - Garrett Jones

Garrett Jones was a late bloomer, who didn’t debut until his age-26 season, but didn’t graduate his rookie status until his age-28 campaign. Jones was drafted in the 14th round of the 1999 draft by the Atlanta Braves. After three unimpressive years in rookie ball, the Braves released him, who was then signed by the Twins in May of 2002. Jones toiled in the Twins system, but did make his debut in 2007, but only had 84 plate appearances. Jones was released at the end of the 2008 season, and that’s when the Pirates picked him up.

In his age-28 season, Jones made a great first impression, batting .293/.372/.567 with a .393 wOBA, and 142 wRC+. The first baseman/outfielder hit 21 home runs in just 358 plate appearances, while showing off great plate discipline. He walked in 11.2% of his plate appearances while only going down on strike three 21.2% of the time.

Jones finished the year seventh in National League Rookie of the Year voting, and arguably the best hitting rookie seasons in the franchise’s history. Among Pirate rookies with at least 300 PAs since the Rookie of the Year award became a thing, Jones’ 2009 season ranks first in wRC+, OPS, wOBA, slugging percentage, and isolated slugging percentage. The only notable offensive statistics that his 2009 rookie campaign doesn’t rank first in is batting average (11th), on-base percentage (7th), and home run total (3rd).

Although Jones never reached the heights of his rookie season again, he was still a productive overall batter during his time in black and gold. Jones ended his Pirates tenure with a .256/.318/.462 triple-slash, .336 wOBA, and 111 wRC+. His isolated slugging percentage clocked in at over .200 at .206, while managing a solid 8.4% walk rate. Jones spent most of his time at first base, where he graded out as a negative defender with -24 defensive runs saved and a -6.8 UZR/150. Though he held his own in the outfield where he had +2 DRS and -2.2 UZR/150.

After his time with the Pirates, Jones played a season with the Miami Marlins as their primary first baseman and briefly played for the New York Yankees in 2015. He then headed to Japan where he spent the 2016 and 2017 season before retiring. 

Second Base - Josh Harrison

Josh Harrison was a 6th round pick by the Chicago Cubs in 2008 and was acquired by the Pirates at the 2008 trade deadline in exchange for Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow. Harrison was mostly a contact-oriented speedy utility man. Despite never appearing on any top 100 lists, he batted at least .305 or better from 2008 until he graduated rookie status in mid-2011. However, he never drew many walks, nor did he hit for much power, which is the likely cause for his exclusion from any top 100 notoriety.

Harrison’s first few years in the big leagues didn’t go very well. He mostly served as an up-and-down utility man who batted .250/.280/.367 with a .283 wOBA, and 78 wRC+. He did have a 12.3% walk rate and provided average to above average defense at multiple positions, both in the infield and outfield, but with almost no power and a walk rate of just 2.6%, there wasn’t much expectations going into 2014.

However, Harrison didn’t just excel expectations; he obliterated them. In 550 plate appearances, Harrison batted .315/.347/.490 with a .365 wOBA, and 137 wRC+. Harrison hit for above average power, crushing 13 dingers with a .175 isolated slugging percentage. His 4% walk rate was still nothing to be proud of, but he still had a fantastic 14.7% strikeout rate. Harrison played nearly every position, aside from catcher, first base, and center field.

While Harrison didn’t repeat these numbers, he still posted a respectable .280/.326/.404 triple-slash, .316 wOBA, and 98 wRC+. But his defense both at the hot corner and the keystone were outstanding. At second base, Harrison racked up +17 DRS and +8 outs above average (OAA didn’t become an official statistic until 2016). Meanwhile at third base, he had +3 DRS and +2 OAA.

Harrison missed a good portion of 2018, and then was bought out at the end of his contract. Since then, the utility man has bounced all around baseball, playing with the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, and now Philadelphia Phillies. Across his last five seasons, Harrison is only batting .256/.316/.370 with a .302 wOBA, and 90 wRC+. Though his defense at second base and third base have still remained average to above average.

Third Base - Freddy Sanchez

Freddy Sanchez was taken in the MLB draft twice. The first time was in 1996 by the Atlanta Braves in the 30th round, but he didn’t sign. The second time was in 2000 by the Boston Red Sox in the 11th round. Sanchez ended up signing the second time around, and spent the first handful of years in the Red Sox’s system.

Similarly to Harrison, Sanchez hit for a ton of contact, consistently having a .295+ batting average with well above average strikeout rates throughout his minor league career. However, with little to no ability to draw a walk or hit for power, he was a very one-dimensional hitter. Sanchez made a brief major league cameo in 2002 and 2003 with the Boston Red Sox before being acquired by the Pirates at the 2003 trade deadline.

The Pirates immediately gave Sanchez a starting role in 2004, posted a .291/.336/.400 triple-slash, and .323 wOBA. Although he only walked 5.5% of the time, his 7.3% strikeout rate was one of the best in the league (although he didn’t have enough plate appearances to qualify). He basically split his time up between third base, second base, and shortstop, though the hot corner was easily his best position where he had +12 defensive runs saved in just 477.2 innings.

Sanchez really broke out in 2006 when he batted .334/.378/.473 with a .365 wOBA, and 119 wRC+. Sanchez again only had a 4.9% walk rate, but an astounding 8.2% strikeout rate. While he only went yard six times, he racked up a league leading 53 doubles. Sanchez mainly took up third base this year, and hit double-digit DRS again with +10. Though he also played both middle infield positions some.

The contact-oriented hitting infielder continued to post respectable numbers in 2007, but then had a career worst year in 2008. Sanchez moved to second base during this time, where he provided above average defense with +5 DRS and +4.1 UZR/150 during his time at the keystone. But he returned to form in 2008, posting an above average wRC+ and batting over .295 before he was traded to the San Francisco Giants.

Sanchez was the team’s primary second baseman during their 2010 World Series season. In 479 plate appearances, he batted .292/.342/.397 with a 104 wRC+. His defense was slightly more suspect, though, as he had -3 DRS, but a +3.3 UZR/150. 

However in June 2011, Sanchez would have to undergo season ending surgery on a dislocated shoulder, and this would be the start of the end for Sanchez. Sanchez only played 60 games in 2011, posting similar numbers to his first full season in San Francisco. The former three-time All-Star tried to rehab from his injuries and played a few games for the Low-A affiliate of the Giants, but had to undergo a second back surgery on July 4th. Although he would go the entirety of 2013 unsigned, it wouldn’t be until 2015 when Sanchez officially announced his retirement.

Sanchez was a late-bloomer, so who knows how many more years he would have had if he didn’t suffer so many major injuries at the end of his career. But even though his career was short-lived, playing 100+ games in just six seasons, he still has three all-star games, a World Series ring, and a few MVP votes from 2006 to his name.

Shortstop - Jack Wilson

Jack Wilson wasn’t originally a Pirates prospect. The shortstop was a ninth round pick by the division rival St. Louis Cardinals in 1998, and was acquired by the Pirates at the 2000 trade deadline in exchange for Jason Christiansen. He never did much to attract prospect attention throughout his minor league career, mostly playing as a light-hitting, defensive first middle infielder. However, he still carved out a 12-year MLB career, nine seasons of which were spent with the Pirates.

Wilson wasn’t much of a batter during his Pirates tenure. He hit a lowly .269/.311/.376 with a .300 wOBA, and 78 wRC+. The Bucs traded him to the Seattle Mariners in 2009 alongside Ian Snell for five players, and his bat only continued to regress. From the time he left the Pirates to his last major league game in 2012 with the Atlanta Braves, Wilson batted just .252/.265/.289 with a .247 wOBA, and 52 wRC+ in 632 plate appearances.

However, Wilson’s bat was never the main staple of his game. It was his defense at shortstop. Defensive runs saved became an official statistic in 2003. Since then, only a dozen players have reached the 100+ DRS milestone. You have some of the game’s best all-time defenders like Andrelton Simmons, Yadier Molina, Adrian Beltre, and Nolan Arenado among those dozen players, but at number nine, you have Jack Wilson.

Wilson had +116 DRS at shortstop throughout his career (plus another six at second base). His +21 defensive WAR is considered among the top 50 of all-time. That’s more than Mike Schmidt, Willie Mays, Carlton Fisk, and Arenado. Wilson is arguably the best defender of all-time to not win a Gold Glove in the Gold Glove era. He and Rey Sanchez are the only players to have at least +20 defensive WAR and never received a Gold Glove after playing their entire careers after the award became a thing.

A lot of that is because of a lack of name recognition, playing on a lot of bad Pirates teams and on an overall small market team, and before the boom of more advanced metrics. His best defensive season was in 2005 when he racked up +32 defensive runs saved and a league leading +4.1 dWAR. DRS still views it as the third best defensive season by a shortstop, and fifth best defensive season by any player since 2003. In an example of bigger market and name bias, Omar Vizquel took home the award with only +1 DRS and +0.8 dWAR. Ironically, Wilson took home a silver slugger the previous season after batting .308/.355/.459 with a 103 wRC+.

On a rate basis, there are a lot of similarities to both Jack Wilson and Bill Mazeroski. Sure, Mazeroski played a lot longer than Wilson did, but in terms of hitting and fielding (on a rate basis), there’s a real case to be made that Wilson ended up as a more valuable player, on a rate basis.

Left Field - Bryan Reynolds

We get to our first player who is still on the Pirates, and that’s switch-hitting all-star outfielder Bryan Reynolds. Bryan Reynolds was acquired in the Andrew McCutchen trade, which at the time, was highly criticized by a good portion of the Pirates fanbase. There probably wasn’t a single Pirates fan who was happy about McCutchen leaving, but the trade has worked wonders for the Pirates and is arguably the best trade the franchise has ever made.

The San Francisco Giants was Reynolds’ original team. They selected him in the second round of the 2016 draft out of Vanderbilt. Coming up through the minor leagues, Reynolds was considered a well-rounded prospect, but none of his tools were much better than average. In 2018, his first season in the Pirates’ organization, the switch-hitter batted .302/.381/.438 with a .368 wOBA, and 128 wRC+. Reynolds also had a 11.2% walk rate and 19.8% strikeout rate.

Reynolds entered 2019 at the Pirate Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, but quickly made his way to the major leagues after injuries and an outstanding brief performance in the minor leagues. Reynolds found regular playing time and ran with it, batting .314/.377/.503 with 16 home runs and 37 doubles. Reynolds’ 8.4% walk rate and 22.2% strikeout rate weren’t wowing anyone, but overall, he had a .371 wOBA, and 137 wRC+.

Reynolds was one of the best rookies in baseball, but was overshadowed by the likes of Pete Alonso, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Mike Soroka, all of whom finished above Reynolds in Rookie Of The Year voting. After the shortened 2020 season where Reynolds performed poorly, he would then go on to have a career year in 2021.

In 646 plate appearances, Reynolds batted .302/.390/.522 with a .385 wOBA, and 141 wRC+. The switch-hitter’s 11.6% walk rate and 18.4% strikeout rate are both career bests today. He also hit 24 home runs, and hustled out 35 doubles. Reynolds played most of the season in center field, where he had +11 outs above average.

Reynolds’ worst full season has been 2022, but he still had a 125 wRC+. So far this year, Reynolds is off to a good start, batting .294/.337/.509 with a 125 wRC+. However the big thing to come out of his 2023 season is he signed an eight-year extension, and the first $100+ million contract in the Pirates’ franchise history.

Center Field - Nate McLouth

We finally get to our first Pirates player who was drafted/signed by the team, rather than traded for or acquired via other methods. Outfielder Nate McLouth was a 25th round pick by the Bucs in the 2000 MLB draft. Like many of the players we’ve talked about today, McLouth was a light-hitting, contact-oriented, speedy player who hit for little power and didn’t draw walks. However, unlike many of the players we have talked about, he would eventually grow into his power.

McLouth made his debut in 2005, however after batting .258/.351/.459 with a walk rate above 10% (10.1%), an ISO of .201, and wRC+ of 110 through 382 plate appearances in 2007, McLouth earned a starting job in the Pirates’ outfield the following year, which ended up being the best year of his career.

Now the Pirates’ starting center fielder, McLouth batted .276/.356/.497, with a .364 wOBA, and 121 wRC+. McLouth’s power fully blossomed as he cranked 27 round-trippers, racked up 46 doubles, and had a .211 isolated slugging percentage. On top of that, McLouth cut his strikeout rate down to just 13.6% while maintaining a quality BB% to 9.5%. McLouth was also a 20/20 batter as he stole 23 bases.

Unlike Wilson, who never won a Gold Glove despite being an outstanding defensive shortstop, McLouth won the award while being a poor defensive outfielder. McLouth was awarded the 2008 National League center field Gold Glove award, despite having -23 defensive runs saved and a -12.8 UZR/150. McLouth had a -2.1 dWAR as well. 

While McLouth had his issues with fielding, he opened the 2009 season as the Pirates’ starting CF, that was until a young prospect by the name of Andrew McCutchen made his arrival. The Pirates then traded McLouth to the Atlanta Braves for Jeff Locke, Charlie Morton, and Gorkys Hernandez, and he continued to have a solid 2009 campaign. He ended the year with a .788 OPS, .348 wOBA, and 112 wRC+.  

McLouth only played about half of each of the following two seasons, registering an 82 wRC+ in the process. The Pirates then resigned McLouth in the 2011-2012 off-season, however he only appeared in 34 games while posting an OPS+ in the single digits before being released at the end of May. He then locked on with the Baltimore Orioles where he would spend the rest of 2012 and 2013, posting about league average numbers (.742 OPS, 102 OPS+). McLouth’s final season was in 2014, playing a 4th outfield role for the Washington Nationals.

Right Field - Orlando Merced

Our final player of the day is our second player who’s original team is the Pirates. That’s Orlando Merced. The Pirates signed Merced in February 1985 as a shortstop. He also saw time at second base, third base, and the outfield, however he’d eventually settle into a 1B/RF role by the time he made the major leagues. Merced made his debut in 1990, though his rookie season would be the following year.

Merced had a pretty decent rookie campaign, batting .275/.373/.399. Although he had an isolated slugging percentage of just .124, he walked at a high 13.4% rate while having a 16.9% strikeout rate. Merced almost only played first base this season, where he was about an average defender. At the end of the season, Merced landed second in Rookie Of The Year voting.

Merced’s best season with the Pirates came in 1993 when he slashed .313/.414/.443. Merced still didn’t hit for much power with a .130 isolated slugging percentage, though he made up for it by drawing walks (77) more often than he struck out (64). Merced mostly played right field this year as well, with +4 total zone runs. Though his days at first base weren’t completely over, as he still saw 278.2 innings at the corner infield position.

Overall, Merced had a productive tenure in Pittsburgh. He batted .283/.364/.428 through seven seasons. He walked at an 11.4% rate while having a decent 14.2% strikeout rate. He also had a .350 wOBA, and while this was in the steroid era, Merced was still about 14% above league average with a 114 wRC+. 

The Pirates then traded Merced to the Toronto Blue Jays in November of 1996 in a nine-player trade. Merced would bounce around from team-to-team from 1997 until his last season in 2003. That includes the Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos, and Houston Astros. 

Between these six teams and six major league seasons, Merced batted .266/.337/.422 with a .331 wOBA, and 94 wRC+. Merced still maintained a strong 15.3% strikeout rate, while his walk rate dipped to 9.5%. However, he did hit for more power during this time, with a .155 isolated slugging percentage. Merced’s last days in professional baseball wouldn’t be until the 2005-2006 off-season when he was still active in the Puertorican Winter League.

Designated Hitter - Brian Giles

Brian Giles wasn’t a designated hitter as he spent a good portion of his career in the outfield. However, I still wanted to include him on this line-up somewhere. Also, considering there isn’t too many starting pitchers who could have made this line-up, and the fact that no reliever would be mentioned since almost every single relief prospect is not on any top 100 lists, I’ll give Brian Giles the last spot today.

Giles was a 17th round pick, but not by the Pirates. He was selected by Cleveland in the 1989 MLB draft. Despite posting quality numbers throughout each of his minor league seasons, he never appeared in on any top 100 lists. He also never played much for Cleveland, only appearing in 299 games spread across four seasons. When he did play, he was quite productive, batting .284/.391/.485 with a 124 wRC+.

However, Giles hit his stride with the Pirates. Acquired in the 1998 off-season, Giles immediately made a major impact for the Pirates. Giles spent the next four-and-three-quarters seasons with the Bucs, batting .308/.426/.591, coming out to a .426 wOBA, and 156 wRC+. Despite his relatively short tenure in Pittsburgh, he became one of the team’s best hitters throughout their history on a rate basis. He ranks 2nd in wRC+, K:BB ratio at 1.54, BB% (16.7%), first in OPS, wOBA, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and batting average. The only rate stat he isn’t top two in is K%, which is still a strong 10.9%, which is still top ten all-time.

Giles also owns maybe the most underrated season in the Pirates’ history. In 2002, Giles batted .298/.450/.622 with nearly twice as many walks (135) to strikeouts (74), 38 home runs, and 15 stolen bases. Giles had a 174 wRC+ and .444 wOBA. Giles was second to Barry Bonds in wRC+, wOBA, OPS, slugging, and OBP in the National League. Giles, despite his outstanding hitting, didn’t even finish top ten in National League MVP voting, finishing 13th. Sure, the Pirates weren’t a great team and Giles was far from a great fielder, but there’s no reason why the second best hitter in the National League shouldn’t finish top ten in voting, at the very least. 

The National League was absolutely stacked when Giles was having a career year, however. Barry Bonds was the big story with his outrageous numbers. However, you also had the likes of Albert Pujols just entering his early prime, as well as stars like Vladimir Guerrero, Jeff Kent, and the two-headed snake monster in Arizona in Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. Not to mention others like Todd Helton, Larry Walker, Chipper Jones, Sammy Sosa, Jim Edmonds, and Andruw Jones.