But when a potentially significant DSL prospect plays for a rebuilding team, it can be difficult to find other clubs that have pro scouting reports on them. Selbys fastball sits 96-98 mph and he looks to blow it past hitters up in the zone. Chen began his career with 26 consecutive walk-free innings in the 2021 Florida Complex League, then spent all of 2022 at Bradenton, where he had a solid second pro season, carrying a 3.76 FIP across 98 innings. Theyve tripled since his claim-staking 2019 DSL season and Nolsaco Kd at a whopping 34% rate in the 2022 Florida State League. You can see the power and athleticism in Davis lower half throughout other aspects of his game, and its an indication that he has the ability to polish this stuff up and control the running game. If he continues missing bats at High-A in 2023, though, Pittsburgh may be forced to add him. The Pirates got a deal done for a cool million, nearly twice the slot amount in the fourth round. That said, it's getting harder. 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. and play-by-play data provided by Sports Info Solutions. 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. He has the talent to be an everyday player, but has to improve in one or two key areas (throwing accuracy, slider recognition) for that to be his outcome. 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. The depth charts found on the Team Pages are based on projected playing time, NOT the current status of a team's roster. }); Grouped by type and listed in order of preference within each category. An extreme groundball pitcher in a small sample, he allowed just two home runs in 35.2 innings of work in 2022. A fresh start with a new org (he was a waiver claim this offseason) might help him find a swing that produces more power. He spins the hell out of everything that leaves his hand, in particular his slider, which averaged over 2,700 rpm, but his inability to fine tune his command puts a damper on its utility (his walk rate was an untenable 12.4% across his 75.2 innings of work). Yean, 21, was once a 40+ FV prospect in Washingtons system. 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. 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. Jones spent 2022, his second full pro season, at High-A Greensboro, where he sat 94-98 mph across 122.2 innings and posted a 26.7% K% and 9.6% BB%. He has a pronounced bat wrap. His curveball was his only secondary to induce an above-average chase rate. Lolo Sanchez, CF A second base-only defensive fit puts the onus on Pegueros bat to perform at an everyday level. He showed a tendency to expand the zone and make some sub-optimal contact as an amateur and in his 2022 pro sample, but there are times when Johnson does this and rather than frustrate scouts and analysts, he impresses them with his ability to identify and adjust to breaking balls, his barrel feel, and his hand-eye coordination. 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. Milwaukee Brewers Batting Postseason Stats 2021. The swing length and approach combination is scary enough to keep Lopez out of the 40+ FV tier even though he has this sort of upside. 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. Webb dealt with a forearm strain that delayed the start of his 2022 season. Its possible Flowers strike-throwing consistency will make a big league manager feel secure going to him with consistency in the middle innings, but on stuff he projects more as a near-ready up/down reliever. 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. He spent much of the season leading off for Altoona, where he slashed .282/.376/.419 and stole 24 stolen bases. Finding a great changeup (or maybe a split?) (2/2/2021) 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. Pegueros lack of throwing accuracy from shortstop is concerning. The Pirates have three of those 38 players, with Termarr Johnson ranked 21st, Endy Rodriguez 22nd and Henry Davis 38th. His Adonis-like physique helps him generate plus pull-side power, and he will show it to you without overswinging he simply lacks bat control and breaking ball recognition. Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cheng entered 2022 coming off an incredible season in which he slashed .311/.449/.492 with twice as many walks as he had strikeouts. as compiled by Ben Clemens and the FanGraphs staff. 2023 Updated In-Season Projections His range, footwork, ability to bend, and overall athleticism are all plus, and it made sense to try to develop him as a shortstop for as long as possible, but Peguero finally saw time at second base in 2022 and a permanent move there will hopefully help him throw more confidently and accurately. You can really see his athleticism and remarkable hip/shoulder separation on his throws down to second. He has basically been the same guy since he entered pro ball, sitting 94-95 with ineffectual shape and a pretty good slider. His finishing pitch, though, is his slider, a nasty upper-80s sweeper that generated a 50% whiff rate and 38% chase rate in 2022. His range and footwork are great, while his actions and arm are fine. JP Massey, RHP So the question is, was there actual improvement in his ability or is this just noise in the signal? The top of this draft class right now is LSU outfielder Dylan Crews, who had a big weekend. He and Solometo have the same flavor of stuff wrapped in different packages. How impactful a starter may depend on how his changeup, currently a tertiary offering, develops at the big league level. feels like the more realistic path to an eventual 45-grade role, or above. 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. Even though both Davis and Rodriguez are near-ready catching prospects, they arent redundant, and in fact they complement each other well. 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. He pitched five innings of relief over two games in early May for the Pirates without allowing a run. Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 Top 50 Prospects January 1, 2021 Kyle Brown General, MiLB, NL Central, Pirates, Top 50 Lists 2 Graphic design by John Stewart, @jonance on Twitter The Pirates had a woeful time in 2020 once the season got going. This impressive performance inspired his offseason 40-man addition. Spotty command and limited fastball utility push Mlodzinski into a multi-inning relief role. Prospects 2022 Top 100 Prospects. His carrying tool is still his defense, especially his receiving, which is crafty and advanced. 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. 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. Luigi Hernandez, RHP. We. Eddy Yean, RHP 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. Quick backfield looks at him have his tools in more of an extra outfielder bucket for now. In August of 2022, Jun-Seok announced he would skip the September KBO draft in order to sign with an MLB club right away. 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. His slider lacks nasty, biting movement, but his arm slot makes it tough on lefty hitters, and his command of it gives it back-foot utility against righties. Its bat-missing capabilities are limited to the bottom arm-side portion of the zone, where this two-seam-ish fastball tends to finish. His breaking ball is his best pitch and he could be a lefty relief piece. 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. Hard-Throwers Scouting. His overall pitch recognition, especially against breaking balls, has become a more noticeable issue. The average draft position (ADP) included is from Draft Champions leagues from January 19 to February 19 at the NFBC, which you can find here.These leagues draft 50 players and that's all they get for the year no pickups or drops. Despite all of that, Priester took a hit in a lot of the national prospect outlets, dropping off quite a few Top 100 lists. 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. Scouting reports were. 2023 Offseason Tracker. 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. A two-way high school player, Jones was clearly a superior prospect as a pitcher, as he was one of the most electric on-mound athletes to roll through the high school ranks over the last decade. Hunter Stratton, RHP Hernandez sat 93-96 mph in 2021 and when seen prior to Dodgers list publication last season, then kept throwing harder throughout the summer and ended up averaging 95-97 and touching 101 while with Double-A Tulsa. Many scouts are champing at the bit over Priesters prototypical frame and four- or five-pitch mix, depending on whether you consider his fastballs two distinct pitches. Flowers has pitched very well in the mid-minors (he carried a 2.88 ERA with Altoona in 2022) and hes been especially good at avoiding walks for a pure relief prospect. Uribe, 20, is a projectable lefty with a 92-93 mph fastball and high-spin breaking ball. 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. Instead, Triolo looks like hell be a superutility guy. 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. Andrew McCutchen / OF 3. 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. Jameson Taillon / SP 4. 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. . 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. ago They do not like solemeto or Gonzalez. Mechanically, Burrows adds additional length to his 6-foot-2 stature with an over-the-top delivery. 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. 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. With Endy Rodriguez around, it may not matter a ton. The Pirates claimed him off waivers and quickly lost him to the Diamondbacks in the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 draft. Silvera, 18, is a physically mature righty who missed a ton of DSL bats even though he only sits 88-90. Maikol Escotto, 2B The timing of his surgery is more detrimental than that of the other college pitchers, as it ups the odds that he wont (or will barely) pitch in 2023. Hes already taken a sizable step in the breaking ball department in just two pros seasons. Barcos long, low arm slot creates a flat approach angle, but hes not really inclined to climb the ladder and pitch at the top of the zone right now, instead living on the arm-side third of the plate with sink and tail. We added RosterResource's Depth Charts; these reflect a team's current. Bins is athletic for a catcher and has a good arm, but his receiving and contact skills are both 30s. We considered Glenn a high priority senior sign in the 2021 draft, but he needed to hit all the way up the minor league ladder and didnt do that in 2022. Pedro Alvarez / 3B 2. Anthony began writing over 10 years ago, starting a personal blog to cover the 2011 MLB draft, where the Pirates selected first overall. Any Top 100 prospects, regardless of their ETA, are also included on this list. Hes been a fast-mover thus far and looks likely to continue that pattern, with a chance to show up on the big-league roster later this season, though a 2024 big league debut is more likely. 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. Gonzales had a 68% Z-contact% as a 23-year-old at Double-A. Now 24 and neither protected from nor claimed during the 2022 Rule 5 draft, its imperative for him to start throwing strikes more consistently in order to find his way to a big league bullpen. His maxed-out frame is cumbersome on the infield, but his footwork at first base has improved a ton since he started playing there, and weve updated our previous DH-only projection. 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. After the season, he again played winter ball, this time in Puerto Rico with Carolina, where Cheng struggled. In some ways, this makes aspects of De Los Santos data even more impressive, because hes turning around soft DSL pitching with ridiculous pace. Hes on track to debut in 2025 as a starter if those issues improve and as a reliever if they do not. It has more details (and updated TrackMan data from various sources) than this article and integrates every teams list so readers can compare prospects across farm systems. 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. 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. Scott, Siani, and Campana all have big physical tools and have all struggled badly from a bat-to-ball standpoint. Quants and front office analyst types are more bearish, citing issues with Priesters fastball playability. Andres Silvera, RHP. He could get a cup of coffee in 2023. 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. Whats more, theres a chance Triolo hits enough to simply be an everyday option at second (or if he turns out to be okay in center). Updated: Saturday, March 4, 2023 4:51 PM ET, Park Factors His fastball velo is up a tick since 2021, now comfortably sitting in the 95-96 mph range and routinely touching 98. It can be found here. These rankings are now available on The Board on the 2023 Fantasy Rankings tab, where you can also see the Top 120 Dynasty Rankings!. 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. 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. Nicolas spent most of his college career in the bullpen, but hes held up well as a starter in pro ball, developing two distinct breaking balls that hes using much more than he did at Ball State. Priesters four-seamer is divisive. They all received. He has the stuff to continue developing as a starter just in case things click, but the bullpen is Jimenezs more likely future destination. Might the changeup develop over time into a plus pitch? In most cases, corner-only outfielders who play consistent big league roles have better actualized their raw power in games. 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. 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. Moreover, he has one of the more unusual profiles in professional baseball. Format = Team Position Player | Age on 4/1/23 | Highest level played | ETA. Even if sliders are a chronic issue for Davis, hell likely still get to enough power to produce better than the average everyday catcher. Webbs velocity began to climb in 2019, when he went from sitting 89-92 mph to sitting 90-94 and touching 96. Youll occasionally see a low-90s changeup from Hernandez as well, but hes a relief prospect all the way and likely to stick in Pittsburghs bullpen despite below-average command. 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. Antwone Kelly, RHP He mixed in four pitches, with his four-seamer and slider accounting for 88% of his pitches, and the changeup and two-seamer bringing up the rear. The 11-15 group consists of Jared Jones, Ji-hwan Bae, Anthony Solometo, Kyle Nicolas and Jared Triolo. Their top ten, in. Its going to be fascinating to watch him develop, and if it doesnt work, hell probably still be a viable reliever. For instance, hes struggled badly on defense, wracking up 46 errors combined the last two seasons. Thats a very walkable path. Hes a fun one cause he had 20 grade defense apparently but scored positive defensively and 30 grade speed but ran nearly 29 feet/second. 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. Short but not small, his lack of length and size is actually an advantage for Johnsons swing, as he can enjoy a bat path geared for power and lift without it being too long. Matt Gorski, OF 2023 600 PA / 200 IP Projections Steamer600. 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. On defense, Rodriguezs size is both a feature and a bug. Triolo earned industry praise for his defensive aptitude and high marks for his baseball IQ and instincts. 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. 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 his defense continues to look like it did in the 2022-23 Dominican Winter League during 2023 spring training, he may quickly be repositioned on this list. His delivery is violent and scary, especially given the injury track record, though not all of his injuries in the past have been to his arm. Hernandez showed up to 2022 spring training with a harder breaking ball than he had previously shown, and as the season went along, he added to his fastball as well. 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. There isnt suddenly big power here or anything like that, but its the start of a physical step that was likely necessary for Cheng to take to play major league ball. Hernandez, also 19, sat 93-96 in 2022 and has a good-looking two-planed slider, but a relief-only delivery and a mature build. Nicolas has consistent glove-side command of his entire repertoire, and he tends to live on that half of the plate exclusively. Jesus Castillo, SS 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. 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. If he moves to first base, this will become especially scary. After coasting through the low and mid-minors, he finally hit a speed bump in 2022, posting his first below-average statline as a 21-year-old at Double-A Altoona. A proactive bullpen move could put him in position to debut in 2024. Samaniego looks like a typical second lefty out of a bullpen, sitting 92-94 mph with a deceptive, whippy arm action, and locating his fastball with precision on the arm-side part of the plate. ), and some of the recent, perhaps overzealous examples (Maikel Escotto, Rodolfo Nolasco) are in this system. Sanchez runs pretty well. Counter to our past reports, his swing is rather stiff and some of Lopezs length makes him vulnerable to pitches in on his hands. If a clearer path at third base existed in this org, that might have been enough for us to do it. Hes been able to maintain nearly average contact rates despite a pull-heavy approach to contact. The husky Nunez swings really hard and generates big peak exit velocities. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. He barely played in 2022 due to hamstring, elbow, and hip flexor injuries that cost him all but a couple of games. 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. Across his 94.1 innings, he racked up 111 strikeouts against just 31 walks, with a 1.21 WHIP. He fills out the bottom half of the zone with his slider, itself an impressive bat-misser, thanks again to Dombkowskis command. Lopez swings exceptionally hard and makes some mechanical compromises to do so, but not in a way that has impacted his performance yet.
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