Theres still some prospect clout here because of Nolascos power and long-haul physicality, but at this stage, he should be considered more of power-driven flier than a likely big leaguer. The effects of a pro strength and conditioning program might kick-start him down the path toward finding a more consistent release and sustaining the big velocity as a pro starter. Hes still the contact-first, chop-and-spray hitter hes always been, an approach to hitting enabled and bolstered by his speed, which allows him to beat out infield singles. Davis was on the IL multiple times in 2022 with issues stemming from a small nondisplaced fracture of his left wrist that he suffered when he was hit by a pitch in May. Some of his early-career success seems to have stemmed from his physical maturity. He finished 2022 at Altoona and has a chance to be in the big leagues at some point this season. Acquired in a. He threw it 16% of the time (up from 9% the previous season) and induced a 53% whiff rate with this power-action, mid-80s change. Chandler started the 2022 season on the complex, where he showed two-way promise, slashing .231/.444/.654 over 36 plate appearances while annihilating opposing batters, issuing 27 strikeouts and giving up just three hits without allowing a run over 15.1 innings. Pathways toward a more impactful role are most likely to be carved by Harringtons command outperforming this projection. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2021, the 25-year-old right-hander has a degree in microbiology and premedical studies from Oxford, Ohio's Miami University, and he has worked as a . Blanco is a gigantic corner outfield/1B prospect who had the most present raw power in the January 2022 international signing class. Might the changeup develop over time into a plus pitch? Quick backfield looks at him have his tools in more of an extra outfielder bucket for now. Ke'Bryan Hayes, Oneil Cruz, Mitch Keller, Travis Swaggerty, Tahnaj Thomas and. Bolton was able to stay healthy for the entirety of 2022, which was an accomplishment in itself given that his professional career has been plagued by injury since it began. Juan Jerez, 3B Andres Silvera, RHP. Endy had an incredible 2022 statline .323/.407/.590 most of which was generated at hitter-friendly Greensboro. Theres an All-Star-caliber hit and power combination here, and while a bigger pro data sample might reveal some approach-related issues, Johnson has been one of the best hitters his age for going on a half decade and feels like a relatively high-probability high school hitting prospect. Pittsburgh Pirates: Top 10 Players Under Age 26 (as of 4/1/11) 1. As a high schooler, his ultra-low spin splitter seemed like the more promising pitch, but his feel for it has regressed. Most of his swings and misses over the last few years have been on fastballs running away from him, but in 2022, he displayed a more advanced ability to poke the barrel at balls on the outer edge of the plate, extending his short levers in an effort to slap outside pitches the other way. His low, short-armed slot is like a righty version of Reiver Sanmartins delivery. His swing decisions and ability to make contact out front and tap into his latent power improved throughout the season. Pegueros lack of throwing accuracy from shortstop is concerning. As a right-handed hitter almost all of Endys damage is done on outer-third pitches that he can get fully extended against. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. For instance, hes struggled badly on defense, wracking up 46 errors combined the last two seasons. Gorski had a nutty statline at Greensboro and indeed has plus raw power, but its tough to project a real role for a 25-year-old who struck out as much as he did at High- and Double-A. Pittsburgh graduated two top-50 prospects in 2022 (Oneil Cruz and Roansy Contreras) and still has a top-five system, or close to it, because of the three potential stars atop the group and the many upper-level, core role-playing hitters who should arrive in the big leagues soon. Neither his slider nor changeup is fully baked quite yet, but if either (or both) become viable, they would bring with them a higher probability that Priester slots in as a mid-rotation starter. This was a four-year rookie-level player who had suddenly been added to the Royals 40-man roster after the 2021 season even though he had all of 32 innings above Low-A. He barely played in 2022 due to hamstring, elbow, and hip flexor injuries that cost him all but a couple of games. Top 42 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates | FanGraphs Baseball Reports around his once-stellar defense have dimmed, and were hoping its due more to rust and lost time than to an actual regression in ability. 1/ . Fangraphs Releases Their List of the Top 100+ Prospects He did not hit well after the injury, but thats typical of hitters coming off a wrist fracture, and a second IL stint due to the wrist was an indication that it was bothering Davis throughout the year. He has the strength to do damage the other way, but save for the occasional pitch on the outer edge, hes geared to pull. It can be found here. Alessandro Ercolani, RHP Besides Johnson and Harrington, two other 2022 draft picks made the top 30. However, Priester makes up for it with his preferred secondaries a huge, arcing curveball that Priester has had forever, and a more recently developed mid-80s slider both of which have garnered swing-and-miss rates well above the big league average. Cy Nielson, LHP Fangraphs' Top 42 Pirates Prospects His multi-tasking fastball plays at the letters due to angle and also gets a groundball when located down, but at just 91-94 mph, its still a below-average pitch. His turn at the 2022 Futures Game gave viewers a glimpse of his heater/curveball combo, showcasing the carry on his mid-90s fastball in contrast to the vertical depth of the high-spin (2,800 rpm) curve. His slot also helps generate two-plane sweep on his breaking ball. The Royals designated Webb for assignment in mid-November and he elected free agency before signing with the Pirates. The depth-drive approach has extended to the amateur side of things, where the Pirates tend to spread out their bonus pool to at least a couple of over-slot prospects every year. When healthy, he was a hard-throwing 40 FV reliever. They have Hunter. FanGraphs Prospects. Pirates Reds: NL West. These rankings are now available on The Board on the 2023 Fantasy Rankings tab, where you can also see the Top 120 Dynasty Rankings!. Rodriguezs arm is comfortably plus. He moved into a minor league relief role in 2022. D-backs Dodgers Giants Padres Rockies: Offseason Tools. Pittsburgh Pirates Top 43 Prospects by Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin February 9, 2023 Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports Top Prospects Team Lists 2023 2022 AL NL Below is an analysis. Pro teams are more open to east/west fastball operation and the Pirates might be able to coax more sweep out of Harringtons slider, though Campbell does a pretty good job developing pitchers, so there may be less developmental meat on the bone here than youd guess considering hes coming from a smaller program. The type of contact he makes is unlikely to ever lead to home run power commensurate with a true everyday player, but Bae makes enough stinging, all-fields contact that he projects to hit plenty of doubles and triples. While especially adept at launching pitches on the inner third, Johnson also shows some ability to shorten up and cover the top and outer edge of the strike zone. If it does, he should be a 50, and that grade was discussed during the Pirates list-making process. A much deeper overview can be found here. If he continues missing bats at High-A in 2023, though, Pittsburgh may be forced to add him. In his time at Bradenton, Chandler struck out 33 batters over 26 innings, and while his walk rate was an unacceptably high 15.8%, thats actually down a notch from what he was allowing over a larger sample on the complex. He re-emerged in 2022 as a 24-year-old at Triple-A, and had an offensive season commensurate with that of an extra outfield prospect, a lefty stick with more raw power than hed hit for in games, but enough bat to play a bench role provided hes capable of playing center field. 2022 Pittsburgh Pirates Summary Stats Schedule Player Usage Depth Chart The depth charts found on the Team Pages are based on projected playing time, NOT the current status of a team's roster. Massey, going on 23, is a very loose, projectable college prospect from Minnesota. Still, the teenage pitcher demo is bust-prone and, anecdotally, this seems especially true when the prospect in question already throws really hard at age 17 or 18. He was one of the younger players available in the 2022 draft and yet at a listed 205 pounds, Kennedy is more physically mature than most of his peers, even some who are a year or two older than he is. Nolasco had two years of surface-level statistical success in rookie ball and the huge exit velos to match, but now after three pro seasons, his strikeout rates show a troubling upward trend. His quality of contact is very good when he does make it, and is already on par with the typical starting major league second baseman even though hes barely 22. Podcasts: . Its not a great look to lose half a minor league rosters worth of players in the Rule 5, but that whole group might produce one or two big league role players, which is a small price to pay if theyre byprospects of a bigger group from which the Pirates can pick and choose before exposing the rest to that arcane process. Anthony began writing over 10 years ago, starting a personal blog to cover the 2011 MLB draft, where the Pirates selected first overall. He throws precise, high-quality strikes with the heater, and the pitch has enough tailing action to have stayed off of A-ball barrels. It could stand to have more consistent depth, but the flashes are there, and remember that Kennedy is barely 18. Unlike the other lists released yesterday, Fangraphs has not posted their top 100 prospects list yet, so we didn't already have some idea of the top of their list. Theyre finding them. Its unlikely hell make enough of an offensive impact to be a primary catcher, but hes very likely to spend time on big league 40-man rosters as a second or third catcher. A quick overview of what FV (Future Value) means can be found here. That pitch plays up against lefties for reasons that are probably obvious, but it isnt a nasty pitch in a vacuum. Malone, a former first round high schooler who was part of the Starling Marte trade with Arizona, has barely pitched since he was acquired, and dealt with shoulder injuries in 2022. While likely of low impact, Solometos feel to pitch will almost certainly enable him to be a big leaguer of some kind, either a backend starter or long reliever. They had a ton of depth and a need to fill their Triple-A roster with external veterans in case of injury, and its likely that they mis-evaluated some of their own players who they should have protected, players like Trey McGough, Cristian Charle, Joelvis Del Rosario, Austin Roberts, Wilkin Ramos, Jared Oliva, and Peter Solomon, all of whom have either been on past prospect lists or were flagged for interesting performance or characteristics during this list cycle. 2022 Top Prospects | THE BOARD | FanGraphs Pre-draft rumors pegged Kennedy as a tough sign given a strong commitment to LSU. From that point on, however, Triolo walked more and struck out less, such that both rates sat in the mid-teens, while flipping the slugging switch on to the tune of 13 doubles, five triples, and eight home runs over the course of the same number of games. Averaging Out the Top Prospect Rankings - Pirates Prospects Johnson often ends his swing with his torso having made a full 180 degree rotation, sometimes swinging with such ferocious bat speed that he loses his balance and faceplants in the batters box. As of list publication, Rodriguez is one of just two catchers on Pittsburghs 40-man roster, and while its possible hes beaten out by a veteran non-roster invitee like Tyler Heineman, Rodriguezs defensive chops and versatility give him a shot to break camp with the big club, split time with Austin Hedges, and moonlight at one or two other positions before eventually seizing the primary catcher job. He walked more than a batter per inning in 2022. Drafted 91st overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021 out of a Huntington Beach junior college, the 20-year-old southpaw not only finished last season in Double-A, he dominated at all three levels where he saw action. Scouting reports were. While hes played a bunch of shortstop, he is much more likely to wind up on the edge of 3B/1B than he is to see middle infield time at maturity. Webbs velocity began to climb in 2019, when he went from sitting 89-92 mph to sitting 90-94 and touching 96. Fangraphs Reveals Their Updated Top Pirates Prospects List In April and May, he posted a strikeout rate of 15.9% and a walk rate of 14.5%; from June to September, he improved those marks to 28.5% and 6.9%, respectively. He would slot among Priester and Ortiz on this list had he completed a totally healthy 2022. He also has a promising sweeper slider, but he lacks typical physical projection for a teenage pitcher. These rankings include six Pittsburgh Pirates prospects cracking the FanGraph top 100. His pop times are routinely in the 1.85-1.95 range in part because Endy has a strong arm, but also because hes almost always leaving his crouch before he even receives the pitch on steal attempts, which hastens his exchange. His 2022 was not as remarkable from a walk and strikeout standpoint but it was still good, as he hit .270/.376/.418 with 38 extra-base hits (pretty good for the Florida State League) and 33 steals at Low-A Bradenton. There were only three big league hitters with 100 plate appearances who had sub-70% in-zone contact rates in 2022 (Chris Morel, Brett Phillips, Eli White). He spent two years at a JUCO before heading to South Alabama in 2020, and he only pitched 21 total innings for the Jaguars due to the timing of his transfer. Scouting. He pitched for Panamas U18 team in September and showed a good changeup and fair slider as well. The bumps and bruises suffered from catching can sometimes level players for whole seasons, and Davis had a lot of them in 2022. Hes still on a path toward a glove-reliant bench role but is closer to having meaningful pop than he was last year. All major league baseball data including pitch type, velocity, batted ball location,
Maggi is, by definition, a Major Leaguer. Kennedys delivery is simple, compact, repeatable, and easy-looking, and you can project heavily on his changeup because of this, though right now he often gets underneath it and it tends to cut on him. He might end up becoming the player the industry hoped Francisco Meja would become. His fastball remains in the mid-90s but continues to underperform in terms of its bat-missing ability due to its hittable line. Chandlers pitching performance wasnt as lights-out as it had been pre-promotion, but it was still a display of the rightys potential. Its now fair to expect that the current version of Nicolas will be capable of holding down a spot toward the back of Pittsburghs rotation by the middle of 2024. To that point in the season, his mid-teens walk rate had inspired guarded optimism regarding an improved approach, though Nunez also may have become intentionally passive, as his raw swing% was a minuscule 40%. He also mixes in the occasional changeup or curveball, which accounted for a combined 11% of his offerings at Low-A. Hes going to be a star if he ends up with even average raw power, and even if he doesnt, were talking about a switch-hitting catcher who can make an impact on both offense and defense. De Los Santos contact metrics are a hair south of average, and thats the biggest indicator that theres real risk here, but boy, there is also real ceiling. 2023 Offseason Tracker. Pittsburgh Pirates Stats | FanGraphs Baseball Updated: Saturday, March 4, 2023 4:51 PM ET, Park Factors
Even though hes so young, youre not really projecting on his frame in a positive way so much as it feels possible Kennedy could have impact command at maturity, because his delivery is so effortless and the quality of his fastball strikes so advanced. Both can be in the lineup every night because of Rodriguezs defensive versatility and the universal DH, and a more liberal timeshare behind the plate might help keep them both healthier and more consistently productive on offense. His on-mound athleticism enables plus long-term command projection, though for right now Harrington really only locates his fastball to his arm side. He fills out the bottom half of the zone with his slider, itself an impressive bat-misser, thanks again to Dombkowskis command. Top Prospects Team Lists 2022 2021 AL NL Pirates Top Prospects Reading Options Detail Level Data Only Full Position Filter All 60 FV Prospects 1. Instead, Lopez picked up some reps in the Dominican Winter League, just a few games against the most advanced competition he has yet seen, and is poised to spend 2023 as a 21-year-old at Altoona. He can play a fine shortstop. Solometo certainly has superficial frame-based projection, but his athleticism and explosiveness are comfortably below whats typical of someone who finds more and more velocity deep into their 20s. Solometo was a very high-profile amateur pitcher, drafted in the second round but given a bonus commensurate with the 24th overall pick ($2.8 million) as one of several exciting high schoolers who Pittsburgh landed with the pool space freed up by Henry Davis under slot agreement. It comes out of his hand from a high arm slot that looks like the kind optimized for data-friendly ride, but the pitchs downhill angle makes it less of a weapon at the letters and actually makes it very vulnerable within the strike zone. ago They do not like solemeto or Gonzalez. Davis skills and offensive style are tailored like those of Evan Gattis. Barring a velo bump or another significant alteration to some of the more concerning elements of his profile, he looks like a single-inning up/down reliever. Drafted: 1st Round, 2022 from Mays HS (GA) (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2018 from Dominican Republic (NYM), Drafted: 1st Round, 2021 from Louisville (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2018 from Dominican Republic (PIT), Drafted: 1st Round, 2019 from Cary-Grove HS (IL) (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2017 from Dominican Republic (ARI), Drafted: 10th Round, 2018 from Waterford HS (CT) (PIT), Drafted: 3rd Round, 2021 from North Oconee HS (PIT), Drafted: 2nd Round, 2019 from Houston (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2017 from South Korea (PIT), Drafted: 2nd Round, 2020 from La Mirada HS (CA) (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2022 from Dominican Republic (PIT), Drafted: 1st Round, 2022 from Campbell (PIT), Drafted: 2nd Round, 2020 from Ball State (MIA), Drafted: 16th Round, 2018 from Randolph-Macon College (PIT), Drafted: 8th Round, 2019 from Seton Hall (ATL), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2018 from Venezuela (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2023 from South Korea (PIT), Drafted: 2nd Round, 2021 from Gloucester Catholic HS (PIT), Drafted: 2nd Round, 2022 from Florida (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2018 from Cuba (STL), Drafted: 1st Round, 2020 from New Mexico State (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2015 from Dominican Republic (LAD), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2019 from Pei-Ke High School (Taiwan) (PIT), Drafted: 4th Round, 2022 from Troy HS (NY) (PIT), Drafted: 2nd Round, 2021 from Malvern Prep HS (PIT), Drafted: 1st Round, 2020 from South Carolina (PIT), Drafted: 15th Round, 2021 from South Alabama (PIT), Drafted: 1st Round, 2018 from South Alabama (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2016 from Venezuela (PHI), Drafted: 3rd Round, 2022 from Notre Dame (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2019 from Taiwan (PIT), Signed: July 2nd Period, 2016 from Bahamas (CLE), Drafted: 4th Round, 2019 from Florida State (PIT), Drafted: 11th Round, 2016 from Valley View HS (PA) (PIT), Drafted: 4th Round, 2017 from Rockwall Heath HS (TX) (NYY), Drafted: 34th Round, 2016 from Lees Summit HS (MO) (KCR), Drafted: 6th Round, 2017 from Tracy HS (CA) (PIT), Drafted: 4th Round, 2021 from U-32 HS (PIT). Despite all of that, Priester took a hit in a lot of the national prospect outlets, dropping off quite a few Top 100 lists. He hit his stride in mid-August with back-to-back scoreless starts in which his four-seamer averaged over 96 across a combined nine innings a high water mark for the season and a true glimpse of his upside. Still, his strikeouts come primarily on in-zone swing-and-miss, so its important for the strike-throwing to improve for him to capitalize on his ability to overpower hitters as he continues to advance. Selbys fastball sits 96-98 mph and he looks to blow it past hitters up in the zone. DeVito is a bird of a feather that has flocked together in the Pirates system: a promising arm with in-zone swing-and-miss, but one whose unsteady command has prevented him from capitalizing on that whiff rate. In August of 2022, Jun-Seok announced he would skip the September KBO draft in order to sign with an MLB club right away. 2023 600 PA / 200 IP Projections Steamer600. Ideally, Nicolas can develop an offering that has some arm-side movement, one better than his current changeup that can prevent hitters from sitting on those glove-side locations. Smith-Njigbas on-base skills drive an above-replacement forecast here, but its tough to project a real big league role, and he may be an interesting candidate for teams in Asia. We added RosterResource's Depth Charts; these reflect a team's current. Thats hard enough to do for any batter, let alone one whose schedule also includes the grueling demands of pitching development. The FanGraphs prospect team presents their 2022 top 100 list . On the showcase circuit, he was less whiff-prone than is typical for a multi-sport guy from the Northeast, though he was a pull-only hitter and struggled to contact fastballs in the upper/outer quadrant of the zone. He could get a cup of coffee in 2023. Even though both Davis and Rodriguez are near-ready catching prospects, they arent redundant, and in fact they complement each other well. He has a delivery similar to Ubaldo Jimnezs, where his front side flies way open and he tilts out, which helps Kellington get to a vertical arm slot. So compact and short to the baseball is Rodriguez that he can wait an extra beat to diagnose pitch types, which enables him to make in-flight adjustments to breaking balls, spoil the well-located ones, and crush the hangers. Play-by-play data prior to 2002 was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted
He then played for Taiwans National Team at the WBSC U23 World Cup and helped los Caimanes de Barranquilla win the Colombian Winter League and later the Caribbean Series. Injured Arms Jackson Glenn, 2B. He practically straddles the plate and was hit by 20 pitches during an injury-shortened regular season, then was somehow beaned seven more times in just 17 Arizona Fall League games. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. Like his other stuff, his feel for location is better than the movement hes creating on the pitch. As a wrap-up, the Pirates have. The high-waisted Lopez has a wide range of athletic/mobility outcomes that will impact where he ultimately ends up on defense. Harry Ford is one of the top prospects in the Seattle Mariners organization, and he is also unique among his peers. Pirates Prospects Daily: Bryan Reynolds Plays Left Field In His Spring He spent much of the season leading off for Altoona, where he slashed .282/.376/.419 and stole 24 stolen bases. While his walk and strikeout rates were both descent through the first half of 2022, only nine of his 57 hits through mid-June went for extra bases (eight doubles and a home run). Davis plate crowding helps enable his pull-heavy approach. He has now struck out nearly 30% of the time during each of the last two seasons, but hes still performed comfortably above the league average at each stop because of the quality of the contact he does make. He was promoted to Bradenton and fell into a rhythm where each pitching appearance was buttressed by an off day before and after it, with the 19-year-old DHing in the intervening days. Ercolani, an 18-year-old righty from San Marino, had a velo spike during the winter and has been up to 97 mph in the bullpen recently. Even with that in mind, any team would be happy to sign a teenager with this kind of stuff for just $750,000 of their bonus pool. Cubs pitching prospect Hayden Wesneski is proving he belongs in his latest Spring Training outing. It had exploded even further when he was seen following the pandemic shutdown, as he sat 95-97 mph and was touching 101 during the 2021 regular season. A double-plus hit tool leads the way for Termarr Johnson, a 5'7" 175 lb left-handed hitter who calls Jose Ramirez to mind on a quick visual evaluation. He appears tentative on routine throws and still isnt a sure-handed defender. Flowers velocity has never really popped in a big way despite some of the late projection because of his conversion. (2/2/2021) It shows above-average arm-side action on occasion, but hes only throwing it 12% of the time. In the past, Ortizs high-effort delivery and sub-optimal fastball shape put him on the starter/reliever line, but hes thrown plenty of strikes across multiple seasons while simultaneously developing more velocity and comfortably projects as a starting pitcher now. For now, hes lithe enough for third, where he has a shot to be an everyday player based largely on his power projection. From a heuristics standpoint, you cant do much better than Rodriguezs profile. Either way, he played over half the season in the outfield and was roughly average, which is much better than I would have expected after the reporting on him previously called him a positionless defender. That makes it seem all but inevitable that Chandler will eventually ditch the bat to optimize his development on the mound. The older brother of Ohio State wide receiver phenom Jaxson Smith-Njigba, Canaan is another of the many prospects acquired from the Yankees for Jameson Taillon. Swaggerty matched the nine home runs he posted in 2019, but this time, he did so against better pitching, in fewer at-bats, and in a much less hitter-friendly park, and he improved on his walk rate by a couple of ticks. Diego Cartaya (37) - Catcher Cartaya is listed a little higher in The. Clubs like the Pirates arent making buyers trades, so they have little to no incentive to move a potentially great young player, which in turn means teams have little incentive to scout said player. Whether his ability to go get it in center field bounces back is the X-factor that will determine his ability to play a long-term big league role.