Under the watchful eye of Ben Cherrington, the Pirates have started to rebuild their farm system and more importantly, bring in new instruction and better analytics for proper development. Hopefully, with that innovation, the Pirates are looking up. Based on what I see in their system, there is enough talent to build a core that could compete in three to five years.
Ke’Bryan Hayes made his debut in the Major Leagues in 2020 and handled it well. He’s still prospect-eligible but he’ll be manning third base to begin the 2021 season and should quickly lose prospect eligibility. Nick Gonzales was the Pirates first-round pick last June and I like the pick. He’s not a big kid, but has some pop, speed and can hit. The top pitcher is Quinn Priester, who was the Pirates’ first-round pick in 2019. He’s a projectable right-hander with a nice current arsenal that has a chance to develop into a number three starter or perhaps more.
- Ke’Bryan Hayes (3B)
- Nick Gonzales (2B)
- Oneil Cruz (SS)
- Travis Swaggerty (OF)
- Quinn Priester (RHP)
- Liover Peguero (SS)
- Sammy Siani (OF)
- Brennan Malone (RHP)
- Jared Oliva (SS)
- Cal Mitchell (OF)
The remaining five can be found here.
