The Pirates depend on their farm system to keep their major league roster stocked with affordable talent, and they have six players in this year’s top 100. Most of their top-10 prospects are close to big-league-ready and likely to assume regular roles by 2018. And they still have Andrew McCutchen, who could have substantial trade value this summer if he comes back fully healthy. If the Pirates are out of contention enough to consider dealing him, he would likely return at least one top-100 prospect.
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1. Austin Meadows, OF (ranked No. 9)
2. Josh Bell, 1B (ranked No. 14)
3. Mitch Keller, RHP (ranked No. 16)
4. Tyler Glasnow, RHP (ranked No. 25)
5. Kevin Newman, SS (ranked No. 33)
6. Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B (ranked No. 74)
7. Elias Diaz, C
8. Cole Tucker, SS/2B
9. Nick Kingham, RHP
10. Gage Hinsz, RHP
Non-top-100 guys
Elias Diaz missed most of 2016 with an elbow injury that, fortunately, did not require Tommy John surgery, and he should be good to go this spring. He’s a good defensive catcher. At bat, he lacks power but rarely strikes out (or walks). He profiles as an everyday backstop for somebody either this year or next.
Cole Tucker came back from shoulder surgery without the same arm strength, so his future at shortstop is in doubt. He didn’t look the same at all after his return, as the Pirates bumped him up to High-A at 19 after a nine-month layoff due to the surgery. When healthy, he has a quick bat with good hand-eye coordination and above-average speed, and he looked capable of staying at shortstop. We’ll see if another offseason of rest helps him recover some of his old flexibility.
Nick Kingham came back well from 2015 Tommy John surgery and still projects as a fourth starter, with three pitches (nothing plus) and average to above-average command. Gage Hinsz had a minor breakout at Low-A West Virginia, pitching all year at age 20. Drafted out of a Montana high school -- there’s no organized high school ball in that state -- Hinsz was just a big kid with some arm strength at the time, but he is now more of a pitcher with an above-average fastball and changeup, though it’s probably 60/40 that he winds up a reliever.
Third baseman Will Craig (11) was the Pirates’ first-round pick in 2016. He was a big performer at hitter-friendly Wake Forest who is more likely to end up at first than stay at the hot corner. He’s a patient hitter, but the pre-draft consensus was that his college power was the result of a small home park and some weak opposing pitching. I think he’ll rake in the low minors and won’t be sufficiently tested until Double-A.
Infielder Alen Hanson (12) is out of options and really hasn’t hit well enough in two stints in Triple-A (.265/.316/.388) to justify carrying him right now. He’s still only 24, but he had some real holes in his approach (e.g., velocity up in the zone) that better pitchers exposed. He’ll have to make an adjustment to succeed in the high minors, let alone be carried on a major league bench.
Yeudy Garcia (13) and Luis Escobar (14) are both hard throwers. Garcia throws upper 90s with a hard slider, Escobar mid-90s with a potential plus curveball. Escobar might have a chance to start, while Garcia is much more likely a reliever. Braeden Ogle (15) was a little old for a high school senior, turning 19 in late July, but he’s an athletic 6-foot-2 lefty who can bump 96 mph and sits in the low 90s, complemented with a promising (but below-average) curveball and changeup.
Taylor Hearn (16), acquired in the Mark Melancon trade, is a 6-foot-5 lefty who can reach 100 mph, but he’s still a project: athletic enough to get command, and everyone compares him physically to Aroldis Chapman, but he’s at fringe-level control right now and has a ways to go in harnessing his delivery. He’s a pure reliever, but even with all those question marks, he punched out 35 percent of low-A batters last year.
The Pirates acquired Steven Brault (17) two years ago in a minor trade with Baltimore, and he debuted last year as a starter in Pittsburgh. I think his future is in relief, between the stuff and the fact that hitters get to him his second time through the order. As a starter, he’ll show an average fastball and slider and fringy changeup, but in relief, he’ll likely sit 94-95 mph, and the slider should be harder and sharper. Travis MacGregor (18) was the surprise pick of day one when the Pirates took the right-hander in the second round in 2016. He’s a tall, athletic kid with a good delivery, but the stuff is all projection.
Dovydas Neverauskas (19) will be the first player from Lithuania and the first born and raised in Eastern Europe to play in MLB when he makes his debut at some point this season. He throws up to 97 mph and adds a fringy breaking ball, showing power over command but enough to end up the 11th guy on a staff. Third-rounder Stephen Alemais (20) might be a 25th man/utility infielder; he’s a solid defensive shortstop who can put the ball in play, most of it soft contact.
2017 impact: Hansen is out of options and might make the Pirates’ roster out of spring training, but it’s hard to forecast any impact, given his poor performance in Triple-A. If McCutchen is traded, Meadows would presumably take over in left, with Starling Marte moved to center. Brault and Neverauskas should appear in the Bucs’ bullpen this year. Glasnow made his debut last year, but given his command and control issues, he might spend most of this season in Triple-A.
Sleeper: Escobar is an intriguing Venezuelan import given his youth (he turns 21 in May), the fact that he throws a true curveball and his presently fringe-average control.
The fallen: Hansen was a top-100 prospect after he tore apart low-A while showing speed, some patience and the ability to drive the ball to all fields, but he hasn’t matured as a hitter at all in the past three seasons.