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. This is one of those prospects fantasy players should value more highly than this because of his potential home run output, whereas defensive limitations cause us to value his real-world roster fit in this range. That puts pressure on his plate discipline to improve, since right now Lopez is a little too proactive at the plate and might be exposed at the upper levels. 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. Carter Bins, C Not Quite Enough Hit Tool 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 been up to 100 mph, sits 96, and has solid glove-side command of a mid-80s slider. 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. The bumps and bruises suffered from catching can sometimes level players for whole seasons, and Davis had a lot of them in 2022. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2021, the 25-year-old right-hander has a degree in microbiology and premedical studies from Oxford, Ohio's Miami University, and he has worked as a . The depth-focused style of their rebuild in which the Pirates often got many mid-tier prospects back in trade rather than just one key piece has had some profound positive impacts on this system (its arguably why they have Cruz, Endy Rodriguez, Contreras, and four of their 40+ FV prospects or better on this years list) even as many of the pro departments targets have started to fizzle out at the upper levels. Cheng entered 2022 coming off an incredible season in which he slashed .311/.449/.492 with twice as many walks as he had strikeouts. 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. 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. 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. His 2022 performance deserves some age-related adjustment, but its possible we saw flaws in Pegueros game exposed by upper-level pitching. 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. His overall pitch recognition, especially against breaking balls, has become a more noticeable issue. }); Grouped by type and listed in order of preference within each category. Even though both Davis and Rodriguez are near-ready catching prospects, they arent redundant, and in fact they complement each other well. White was seen early and often as an underclassman since he went to a Philadelphia high school with University of Virginia outfielder Chris Newell, and would frequently match up against the Siani brothers during varsity play. Out over the plate, he has a tendency to stay inside fastballs and lift them toward the opposite field gap. Ryan Vilade, LF His footwork on throws to second is clunky and variable, which often impacts his throw times and accuracy, but the pure arm strength is in there. 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. Top 100 Prospects For 2023 Fantasy Baseball: Spring Training Snapshot He signed for $900,000 and barely played in the 2022 DSL. His acrobatics and creativity at third base make him a plus defender there. He has the strength to do damage the other way, but save for the occasional pitch on the outer edge, hes geared to pull. Mason Martin, 1B His mother spent her childhood in London, while his father "a real Brit; he still has an . 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 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. While his walk and strikeout rates were both descent through the first half of 2022, only nine of his 57 hits through mid-June went for extra bases (eight doubles and a home run). Podcasts: . 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. He was ranked 25th on the Pirates list at the end of 2022, but we were blown away after watching him on video and seeing some of his underlying DSL data during the construction of this list. 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. 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. If he moves to first base, this will become especially scary. He finished 2022 at Altoona and has a chance to be in the big leagues at some point this season. 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. Manual adjustments are made where they seem appropriate, but we use that as a rule of thumb. As FanGraphs sourced TrackMan/Hawkeye data from team personnel after the season, De Los Santos hard hit rate and peak exit velocities stood apart from most of his peers, especially when limiting the sample to the DSLs age-appropriate players. Garcia is only 19 but is already sitting 96. Given how good he is at third, it seems likely that Triolo will be a good defensive second baseman if given enough time, and hes a fine emergency option at short (Kyle Farmer has played there a ton and Triolo is about that good). He would slot among Priester and Ortiz on this list had he completed a totally healthy 2022. Opinions around Shim vary because he offers less physical projection than is typical in the international talent space, even for an older pitcher. 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. 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. 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. RotoWire News: Gonzales will join the Pirates' major-league camp this spring. Top 35 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates | FanGraphs Baseball He can play a fine shortstop. 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. If this were a high school draft prospect, you would already know his name based purely on how explosive De Los Santos is in the batters box. He went 2-for-4 with two singles, two runs and an RBI on Friday night against Kansas State. ago The Royals designated Webb for assignment in mid-November and he elected free agency before signing with the Pirates. Johnsons swing bears some mechanical resemblance to Bryce Harpers, especially its lower half usage and finish. It plays nicely with Flowers plus slider, and he has enough changeup feel to parachute one in against lefties once in a while. 4/5 on a contender. 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. His low, short-armed slot is like a righty version of Reiver Sanmartins delivery. Spotty command and limited fastball utility push Mlodzinski into a multi-inning relief role. Davis skills and offensive style are tailored like those of Evan Gattis. 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. Obviously the 2021 draft was the big one, and seven players from that class are currently on the list. 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. Pirates Top Prospects | MLB.com Before he was drafted he was considered, at least at FanGraphs, a more likely reliever due to the quality of his stuff. When an opposing pitcher releases the ball, the scoop in Johnsons bat head is pointing at the mound with his back elbow hiked way up above his shoulder in a position that seems to defy the rules of normal human physiology. Top 42 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates by Eric Longenhagen February 28, 2020 Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the Pittsburgh Pirates. window.FGWebsite_head_section.buildProspectsListControls(); Its a shorter, less natural looking delivery than what Flowers had as an amateur, but hes been able to throw strikes with it. Matt Gorski, OF 4/5 starter. His low-80s slider, which has late, two-plane bite, has improved considerably and is now an above-average big league pitch. He used his upper-90s fastball for in-zone whiffs, relying on his above-average slider as a chase pitch. LSU played . Jimenez has a very good sweeping, upper-70s curveball and creates plus action on a changeup that he sells with fantastic arm speed. The Pirates snagged him in Decembers Rule 5 draft, making him only the second lefty reliever on their 40-man, so hell likely be called upon for consistent use out of the big league pen in 2023.