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. 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. 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%. Out over the plate, he has a tendency to stay inside fastballs and lift them toward the opposite field gap. If you want to read me wax poetic about that you can check out my end of year review. A proactive bullpen move could put him in position to debut in 2024. Ricky Tiedemann is one of the fastest-rising pitching prospects in the game. In 2022, it garnered just 8% whiffs and 13% chase during his time at Double-A, where he spent most of the season. Big league sliders might force Davis to make an adjustment, but so far his contact performance has been solidly average. He and Solometo have the same flavor of stuff wrapped in different packages. He has become meaningfully stronger over the last year and has more of a balanced, low-ball swing now, as opposed to the slash-and-dash style of contact in his pro debut. 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. Rodriguezs arm is comfortably plus. Milwaukee Brewers Batting Postseason Stats 2021. To be fair, he was only about average in terms of OAA. Cubs prospect Hayden Wesneski proving he belongs in the big leagues Any Top 100 prospects, regardless of their ETA, are also included on this list. 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. Still right on the cusp of graduating from prospect eligibility, Kranick made four appearances in the minors to start the 2022 season before being called up to the major league bullpen. D-backs Dodgers Giants Padres Rockies: Offseason Tools. More glove-side fastballs might help him set up his sweeping slider more effectively, as that pitch has good-looking movement but wasnt a dominant offering in college. He clearly wasnt comfortable in center field during his brief time there last season, but he only played there once every couple of weeks and he isnt a firm no at the position, even if he is bad there right now. Thats a very walkable path. Anthony began writing over 10 years ago, starting a personal blog to cover the 2011 MLB draft, where the Pirates selected first overall. 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. Even if sliders are a chronic issue for Davis, hell likely still get to enough power to produce better than the average everyday catcher. Thats the situation were projecting here. 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. Chandlers pitching performance wasnt as lights-out as it had been pre-promotion, but it was still a display of the rightys potential. Alessandro Ercolani, RHP Moreover, he has one of the more unusual profiles in professional baseball. Fantasy Update: 2023 Re-Draft Top 25/Dynasty Top 120 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 will be an unmistakable fixture on Pittsburghs backfields for the next couple of years and is a power-hitting corner prospect of extreme variance. Fangraphs Reveals Their Updated Top Pirates Prospects List Scouting. 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. by Retrosheet. Pittsburgh Pirates Stats | FanGraphs Baseball Tony Sanchez / C 6. Sergio Campana, CF 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. 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. Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Updated FanGraph Rankings As a right-handed hitter almost all of Endys damage is done on outer-third pitches that he can get fully extended against. 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. 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. Luigi Hernandez, RHP. Castillo is a loose rotator without a lot of bat speed, but he seems to find a way to put the bat on the ball and the power might come if he gets stronger. Overall, the Pirates adding six prospects to their top 50 list is pretty impressive. Some of his early-career success seems to have stemmed from his physical maturity. 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. His delivery has a relief-only look to it. None of his other pitches are above average in fact most of them are currently below average but Chen has plus command projection and a plus changeup, so hes pretty likely to pitch at the back of a big league rotation or as an innings-eating spot starter. 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. Overall, there is a ton of in-zone swing-and-miss happening here. 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. But theres big arm speed here and big riding life to Shims fastball. As a wrap-up, the Pirates have. His delivery also creates an odd angle on a mid-80s cutter/slider, which Solometo commands to his glove side. 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. 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. 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. In August of 2022, Jun-Seok announced he would skip the September KBO draft in order to sign with an MLB club right away. 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). All major league baseball data including pitch type, velocity, batted ball location, Flowers velocity has never really popped in a big way despite some of the late projection because of his conversion. 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. 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. 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. He stayed healthy throughout 2022, throwing 70.1 innings, and was more effective out of the bullpen than in his late-season starts. Isaias Uribe, LHP 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. Prospect Report: Diamondbacks 2023 Imminent Big Leaguers 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. Hes now 23 but could still be a fifth outfielder. The powerfully built Kelly, 19, is a squat but loose righty who sits 93-95 mph and throws quality strikes with his fastball. Pegueros lack of throwing accuracy from shortstop is concerning. While it may seem like a lot of time has passed since he put his name on the prospect map with his otherworldly 2018 DSL performance, Nunez is still very young; hell turn 22 during spring training, where hes a non-roster invitee. (2/2/2021) Top 35 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates | FanGraphs Baseball 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. 4/5 on a contender. March 3, 2023. Besides Johnson and Harrington, two other 2022 draft picks made the top 30. His breaking ball has inconsistent length and he has a relief-only mechanical look, but hes throwing quite hard. Pittsburgh Pirates Top 43 Prospects | FanGraphs Baseball 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. Andrew McCutchen / OF 3. Updated Top 30 Pirates Prospects List from MLB Pipeline 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. Its a pretty big lost year of reps for a multi-sport player looking to get traction with the bat in pro ball. On defense, Rodriguezs size is both a feature and a bug. He throws precise, high-quality strikes with the heater, and the pitch has enough tailing action to have stayed off of A-ball barrels. Hunter Stanley - Game Logs - Pitching | FanGraphs Baseball All of the ranked prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. Enmanuel Terrero, OF Gonzales had a 68% Z-contact% as a 23-year-old at Double-A. 2023 Updated In-Season Projections He maintained his patient approach in Altoona, and when the Double-A season ended, he was sent up to Indianapolis for the last five games of the Triple-A season. There were some signs of offensive progress in 2022. Quants and front office analyst types are more bearish, citing issues with Priesters fastball playability. 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. He might end up becoming the player the industry hoped Francisco Meja would become. Its going to be fascinating to watch him develop, and if it doesnt work, hell probably still be a viable reliever. If he continues missing bats at High-A in 2023, though, Pittsburgh may be forced to add him. Hell also show you a 92-96 mph fastball that plays down a bit due to its shape and Jimenezs lack of command, which caused him to walk 5.8 per 9 IP in 2022. But Jones athleticism and physical strength drove confidence that he could maintain plus fastball velocity across a starters workload in pro ball (which so far has been true), and his natural breaking ball bite gave him at least one likely plus pitch to go with it. His slot also helps generate two-plane sweep on his breaking ball. 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. The site listed four Dodgers prospects on their list. A much deeper overview can be found here. 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. Ke'Bryan Hayes, Oneil Cruz, Mitch Keller, Travis Swaggerty, Tahnaj Thomas and. 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. Mechanically, Burrows adds additional length to his 6-foot-2 stature with an over-the-top delivery. Jesus Castillo, SS 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. That creates backspin and carry on his fastball and big depth on his curve. 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. Joness velocity and breaking ball quality (a power, mid-80s slider with vertical action) give him the floor of a really good reliever, especially if he can somehow throw harder an inning at a time. He could get a cup of coffee in 2023. His carrying tool is still his defense, especially his receiving, which is crafty and advanced. Its a shorter, less natural looking delivery than what Flowers had as an amateur, but hes been able to throw strikes with it. 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. From 2017-21, Webbs strikeout rate more than doubled as a result of his uptick in arm strength. This FV grade is commensurate with a mid-first round high school infield prospect. Scott, Siani, and Campana all have big physical tools and have all struggled badly from a bat-to-ball standpoint. 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. Counter to our past reports, his swing is rather stiff and some of Lopezs length makes him vulnerable to pitches in on his hands. He was passed over in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft despite his stuff quality because hes so raw as a strike-thrower. 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. Oneil Cruz, SS Video Signed: July 2nd. It could stand to have more consistent depth, but the flashes are there, and remember that Kennedy is barely 18. His acrobatics and creativity at third base make him a plus defender there. Jose Tabata / OF. Nick Gonzales - Stats - Batting | FanGraphs Baseball Format = Team Position Player | Age on 4/1/23 | Highest level played | ETA. RotoGraphs. He was Rule 5 eligible after the season, and hitters who have performed that well at High-A tend to be added to their clubs 40-man roster, but Lopez doesnt have a crystal clear defensive home and his plate discipline needs a lot of seasoning, so he wasnt a real threat to be taken. These rankings are now available on The Board on the 2023 Fantasy Rankings tab, where you can also see the Top 120 Dynasty Rankings!. Andres Silvera, RHP. That's nearly 30% of all their picks coming up as noteworthy prospects. This time around, the Top 100 has even more Moreno types, prospects who combine . Scouting reports were. 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. Diego Cartaya (37) - Catcher Cartaya is listed a little higher in The. 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. 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. Jackson Glenn, 2B. In most cases, corner-only outfielders who play consistent big league roles have better actualized their raw power in games. feels like the more realistic path to an eventual 45-grade role, or above. Yean, 21, was once a 40+ FV prospect in Washingtons system. That pitch plays up against lefties for reasons that are probably obvious, but it isnt a nasty pitch in a vacuum. A draft-eligible sophomore in 2022, Harrington is an athletic, pitchability righty with a tailing low-90s fastball and a power-sink changeup in the mid-80s. Fourth-round high school pitcher Owen Kellington was a participant in the 2021 Draft League and Combine, and looked like an interesting, slow-burning developmental prospect prior to a hamstring injury than ended his 2022 season. Triolo earned industry praise for his defensive aptitude and high marks for his baseball IQ and instincts. Poised to compete for a rotation spot when 2023 camp breaks, Ortiz is one of a few high-upside Pirates youngsters who look like theyd fit in a contenders rotation. 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. 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. 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. He barely played in 2022 due to hamstring, elbow, and hip flexor injuries that cost him all but a couple of games. 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. 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. 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. Head, who was part of the Joe Musgrove trade, has Kd at a 33% clip in A-ball and might also be in the midst of a swing change that gets rid of his arm bar. 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. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports. Lolo Sanchez, CF Johnsons swing bears some mechanical resemblance to Bryce Harpers, especially its lower half usage and finish. His chase rates were at or below league average across the board, further emphasizing the troubling command. Pirates Draft Prospect Watch: Big Weekend for LSU's Dylan Crews 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. Webb dealt with a forearm strain that delayed the start of his 2022 season. Hes already taken a sizable step in the breaking ball department in just two pros seasons. 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. Middle infielder Termarr Johnson, who the Pittsburgh. 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 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 Pirates have three of those 38 players, with Termarr Johnson ranked 21st, Endy Rodriguez 22nd and Henry Davis 38th. FanGraphs Baseball | Baseball Statistics and Analysis 2023 Opening Day Tracker. 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. He absolutely towers over his father, who was twice a Baseball America Top 100 prospect but spent most of his pro career in Japan. He entered the 2022 spring as a high-probability 40 FV prospect who some scouts thought belonged in the 40+ tier because of pitching approach changes Barco could make in pro ball that might enable a breakout, but he ended up blowing out his UCL and having Tommy John in May. 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. 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. brewers top prospects fangraphs 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. Climbing the minor league ladder often comes with offensive slumps, many of which are cured as hitters accrue at-bats at the more advanced level. A quick overview of what FV (Future Value) means can be found here. Baseball America Releases Their List of the Top 30 Pirates Prospects