Pittsburgh Pirates: Looking Back at the 2013 Prospect Rankings

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The Pittsburgh Pirates farm system is in a pretty good place entering the 2023 season. Whether or not any of these players make substantial impacts, only time will tell.

Prospects are a fundamental aspect of baseball and a key component in building successful teams. Any fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates need to understand this is a major part of the Organization's process. In essence, prospects are young players in the minor leagues who have yet to make their mark in the major leagues. They are assessed by their skills, potential, and overall talent, and ranked by experts in the industry based on their performance and progress.

The importance of prospects is evident in their potential to contribute significantly to a team's success and their value as trade assets. The Pittsburgh Pirates, a team that has struggled in recent years, place particular importance on developing their prospects. The team's philosophy is centered on building a strong foundation of young players, focusing on their development, and ultimately building a successful team for the long term.

Yesterday, MLB Pipeline released their National League Central 2023 Prospect Rankings. The Pittsburgh Pirates were posted with 2022 first-round selection Termarr Johnson in the #1 spot. Check out our post on the site for more on the updated rankings.

However, rankings do not mean everything but rather a pure suggestion to fans about which prospects experts think will work out. More often than not these players do not make substantial impacts at the Major League level. Instead, they are forgotten about and replaced by new names and rankings. So let's take a look back at the 2013 MLB Pipeline rankings for the Pittsburgh Pirates, specifically the Top 5 at the time:

The group was led off by two pitchers who are still having success at the Big League level elsewhere. Gerrit Cole was the #1 prospect for the team followed by Jameson Taillon at #2. Both had successful careers with the Pirates, but both would also be traded away before their team-controlled years were finished. Cole would be traded to Houston prior to the 2018 season while Taillon would go to the Yankees before the 2021 season. With the Pittsburgh Pirates Taillon had a career ERA of 3.67 through 82 appearances while Cole posted a 3.50 ERA in 127 appearances.

Pittsburgh Pirates v Atlanta Braves / Mike Zarrilli/GettyImages

The prospects ranked 3-5 all were disappointing on different levels. At #3 overall was infielder Alen Hanson. Hanson broke out in 2012 and established himself as one of the best young infield prospects in Baseball. The switch hitter quickly started to gain comparison to having a similar makeup to Jose Reyes. Instead, Hanson would see his stock fall just as fast as it went up, he was DFA'd in 2017.

At #4 would be the other prospect who broke out alongside Alan Hanson. "El Coffee", Gregory Polanco was considered to be as close to as a can't-miss prospect as the Bucs had in their system. He would continue this reputation until he would reach the Big Leagues. Unfortunately, Polanco only had a career batting average of .241 and was let go by the end of the 2021 season.

At #5 was pitcher Luis Heredia. Heredia was the highest-profile International signing by the Pirates in years. He signed out of Mexico and was brought in by then Head Scout Rene Gayo. Heredia was never good for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was in poor shape upon joining the Pittsburgh Pirates and was not throwing nearly as hard as initially reported. Heredia would struggle with command of his pitches and in general to stay healthy over his 7 years in the Organization. His ERA as a starter was over 4 in the minors and he was released after the 2017 season.

Gayo would later be fired by the Pittsburgh Pirates and eventually banned by Major League Baseball. It was never reported specifically who the players were, but Gayo apparently was providing false information to the Pittsburgh Pirates Front Office on prospects specifically from Mexico. He was essentially convincing the Bucs to sign these players and was making money from the Mexican League teams who had his rights. This was a way for both Gayo and the Mexican League Team to make extra cash.

This is tough to look at. When considering that 3 of the top 5 did not work out it makes sense why things went south for the Bucs. Cole and Taillon obviously had successful careers here, but of course, the team moved on from them when they became expensive. Overall, 3 of the top 5 prospects were more status in name than high-potential players. Click here for the full list