For instance, hes struggled badly on defense, wracking up 46 errors combined the last two seasons. Sergio Campana, CF 2022 Top Prospects | THE BOARD | FanGraphs It should be noted that DeVitos development has been plagued by stops and starts caused first by the pandemic and then by an ulnar nerve issue that shortened his 2021 season. His mother spent her childhood in London, while his father "a real Brit; he still has an . The organization will be thrilled if . Hes naturally adept at framing low strikes because hes already so low to the ground, but its also fair to wonder if such a small athlete can withstand the grind of catching 80-100 games every summer. The component parts of a scouting, tools-oriented look De Los Santos frame, bat speed, and infield actions put him in that range, while the DSL data reinforces it somewhat. His command and changeup are both still works in progress, but his 2022 fastball strike% (68%) is an encouraging sign, and again, Jones has a special level of athleticism that should enable him to hone both over time. Jesus Castillo, SS Major League and Minor League Baseball data provided by Major League Baseball. Carter Bins, C Back with former Astros pitching coach Brent Strom in Arizona . Gonzales has begun to track like Keston Hiura, Carter Kieboom, and Jeter Downs, and his swing shares mechanical similarities with both Hiura and Kieboom. Those games were taking place amid weight-lifting and practice for the coming football season and then during the season itself, so Whites balance of strength and flexibility might change as he trains just for baseball. 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. His player page shows him above average in UZR/150, OAA and RAA (although only 1 in each of the latter two). He will be an unmistakable fixture on Pittsburghs backfields for the next couple of years and is a power-hitting corner prospect of extreme variance. Not counting his time at the alt site in 2020, last season was Boltons first time back in competitive action since 2019. Ortiz rocketed through the system in 2022, skipping High-A and spending most of the season with Double-A Altoona before making his big league debut across four starts in September and October. His four-seamer was around the same velo as it had been at the alt site, sitting comfortably at 93 mph and maxing out at 95. Indeed, of his offerings, only his four-seamer had a whiff rate above the big league average, and he struggled to keep that pitch competitive, only throwing it for a strike 57% of the time. Lolo Sanchez, CF Given their respective shapes, its easy to see how those pitches play off of one another, and they were the reason Burrows presented a traditional relief look prior to his changeups development. Play-by-play data prior to 2002 was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted
He throws precise, high-quality strikes with the heater, and the pitch has enough tailing action to have stayed off of A-ball barrels. During a full season at Double-A in 2022, he saw time at third base, shortstop, and center field, and in 2023 hell start seeing more time at second base. His overall pitch recognition, especially against breaking balls, has become a more noticeable issue. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as our own observations. 4/5 on a contender. His fastball velocity is down, in the 92-94 mph range, a far cry from Priesters upper-90s peak. Pegueros lack of throwing accuracy from shortstop is concerning. 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. Aspects of the offensive profile that made him exciting in the first place are still here, led by Pegueros compact but authoritative swing, which is especially good at punishing pitches at the very top of the strike zone. Axiel Plaz, C 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. His changeup is deceptive against batters in both boxes, but in particular against righties, who have a 40% chase rate on the offering. All of the ranked prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. Perhaps as an adjustment to deal with this issue, Priester now mixes in plenty of fastballs for which he pronates on release, giving the pitch screwball-like spin. He moved into a minor league relief role in 2022. Eddy Yean, RHP 2023 Updated In-Season Projections Theyve tripled since his claim-staking 2019 DSL season and Nolsaco Kd at a whopping 34% rate in the 2022 Florida State League. The clubs hit rate on these trades per prospect isnt great, but the hit rate per trade has been better than that because of their risk-mitigating approach. 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. 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. The top six were already know from this list, because Fangraphs had six Pirates in their top 100 prospects. Hes been able to maintain nearly average contact rates despite a pull-heavy approach to contact. 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. Tony Sanchez / C 6. Counter to our past reports, his swing is rather stiff and some of Lopezs length makes him vulnerable to pitches in on his hands. Johnson was a well-regarded prospect basically as soon as he reached high school, and there were scouts who were so excited when they first watched him hit that they considered him a future top 5-10 pick when he was only a freshman. Very Young Prospects to Monitor This also may have been part of why the Pirates lost so many players (11!) Stratton, 26, sat 94-96 mph in 2022 and has a plus-flashing slider that he rarely throws for strikes. 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. He was throwing as hard as ever when he returned but still got shelled, and was quite wild at Double-A before he was sent to Arizona to audition to keep his 40-man spot with Kansas City. He seems able to make some mid at-bat adjustments to this type of pitch but then ends up playing a guessing game with breaking balls. 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. Unfortunately, he then lost the 2020 season to the pandemic and most of 2021 to a shoulder injury he sustained just 12 games into the season. The recent track record of hitters this size isnt favorable, with only Franmil Reyes really panning out, but its exciting to watch Blanco take BP and see how loose and athletic he is for his size. This level of athleticism might be an indication that Rodriguez will find a way to mature into more raw power despite not having a traditionally projectable frame. 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. Overall, the Pirates adding six prospects to their top 50 list is pretty impressive. 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 finished 2022 at Altoona and has a chance to be in the big leagues at some point this season. 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. His swing is quite uphill from the left side and he can tend to swing underneath fastballs up and away from him, but overall he is very difficult to make whiff inside the strike zone despite his steep-launch style of contact. A proactive bullpen move could put him in position to debut in 2024. Drafted as a shortstop, he fell down the defensive spectrum pretty quickly but without finding a way to lift the ball and hit for power in games. 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. His carrying tool is still his defense, especially his receiving, which is crafty and advanced. 4/5 starter. A successful 2022 pro debut (47.2 IP, 9.63 K/9, 3.59 BB/9, 2.64 ERA) driven by very advanced fastball command contrasts with skepticism about how Solometos stuff will play against older and better hitters. You can really see his athleticism and remarkable hip/shoulder separation on his throws down to second. 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. 11/ . He has a wide arsenal, including a changeup and a two-seamer, but tends to rely more heavily on pairing his riding fastball and curveball to keep hitters off balance. Besides Johnson and Harrington, two other 2022 draft picks made the top 30. RT @NorthShoreNine: wNS9+ With @longenhagen Discussing the @fangraphs Pirates Top Prospect List You found it controversial, so we discussed it Subscribe & Listen . So the question is, was there actual improvement in his ability or is this just noise in the signal? Endy had an incredible 2022 statline .323/.407/.590 most of which was generated at hitter-friendly Greensboro. On Friday, FanGraphs released updated rankings. His range and footwork are great, while his actions and arm are fine. As a high schooler, his ultra-low spin splitter seemed like the more promising pitch, but his feel for it has regressed. 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. Amid a couple of short IL stints in 2022, Selby put up impressive numbers split between Double- and Triple-A and then looked great in the Arizona Fall League. As the Pirates improve and fall into the middle of the draft order, opportunities to do this might dwindle since they cant create a big pool space surplus as easily, but their steady stream of competitive balance picks should give them at least some opportunity to explore creativity in the draft room just about every year. 76. Updated Top 30 Pirates Prospects List from MLB Pipeline He showed a velo spike (92-96) at the onset of the 2022 college season before his arm strength and command regressed. Every once in a while he will show you the power, and hes very good at hitting pitches out away from him to the opposite field with authority, but you can get him out if you can execute location against Gonzales, and big league pitchers often do. 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. 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). Fantasy Update: 2023 Re-Draft Top 25/Dynasty Top 120 His arm action is very long, and he bends at his torso as he lunges toward the plate, allowing for more extension during his release, but also creating an uncomfy angle that adds stress to his shoulder. If it does, he should be a 50, and that grade was discussed during the Pirates list-making process. Matt Gorski, OF The barrel-chested Smith-Njigba has huge strength-driven power and a patient approach that borders on passive. After spending most of the year at Triple-A, where he hit .289/.362/.430, Bae spent the last couple weeks of the 2022 season as an everyday member of the big league club, where he seems likely to stick throughout the coming season as a lefty-hitting 2B/OF. 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. }); Grouped by type and listed in order of preference within each category. Nick Gonzales - Stats - Batting | FanGraphs Baseball Both feel like high-floored backend or long relief types who need to walk an atypical path to an impact role. To be fair, he was only about average in terms of OAA. DSL data is noisy, in part because pitchers there dont yet throw enough strikes or with much velocity compared to more advanced levels of the minors. Despite all of that, Priester took a hit in a lot of the national prospect outlets, dropping off quite a few Top 100 lists. Triolo has long been viewed as a glove-first third baseman whod likely have some big league utility, similar to D-backs third baseman Emmanuel Rivera. Top 35 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates | FanGraphs Baseball In August of 2022, Jun-Seok announced he would skip the September KBO draft in order to sign with an MLB club right away. He would slot among Priester and Ortiz on this list had he completed a totally healthy 2022. 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. 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. From the left side of the plate, Rodriguez has an exceptional ability to rip his hands through pitches on the inner edge of the zone. Hes 19 and struggled over the winter in Australia. Hes a young, switch-hitting catcher with cartoonish offensive numbers (especially from a bat-to-ball standpoint) and uncommon defensive versatility, as hes played a bunch of second base and left field as well. 2023 Opening Day Tracker. Sunday Notes: Born To Brits, Harry Ford Could Be - blogs.fangraphs.com Before he was drafted he was considered, at least at FanGraphs, a more likely reliever due to the quality of his stuff. Drew Maggi looks to make Majors with Pirates - mlb.com Here's a link to the Top 25.. Link to the Top 50.. Link to the Top 75.. 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. Hard-Throwers Pegueros pull-heavy style of contact leaves him vulnerable to breaking balls on the outer half, even ones that catch a lot of the plate. 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. Ricky Tiedemann is one of the fastest-rising pitching prospects in the game. Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 Top 50 Prospects Gutierrez has soft, quiet hands, he doesnt tip pitch type or location with runners on base, and he will drop to one knee when he receives some pitches as a means of framing them. While he hasnt continued producing the mid-to-upper-90s velocity he did during college relief outings, Nicolas still sits a respectable 92-95 mph and leans on his two above-average breaking balls, a low-80s curveball and a mid-80s slider. Hes a good enough defender that hed probably being playing shortstop had he ended up at Arizona State, but in pro ball the keystone is Johnsons likeliest defensive home given his maxed-out, stocky build and what projects to be somewhat limited range. Pathways toward a more impactful role are most likely to be carved by Harringtons command outperforming this projection. It sounds like Brannigan is going to develop as a two-way player. Those risks apply here. His letter-high, heater-heavy style of pitching, like Gerrit Coles, results in lots of fly balls and he may have long-term vulnerability to the home run. He pitched for Panamas U18 team in September and showed a good changeup and fair slider as well. Top 51 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates by Eric Longenhagen February 24, 2021 Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He had all the markers of a major league-ready Top 100 prospect prior to the injury, largely due to the progression of his changeup and its usage.