024158435045544202310 wrote: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/top-51-pros ... h-pirates/
Great read! Thanks for sharing, and welcome to OnlyBucs!
Re: Top 51 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates (FanGraphs)
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BellevueBuc
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Re: Top 51 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates (FanGraphs)
301A11211600000C630 wrote: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/top-51-pros ... h-pirates/
Great read! Thanks for sharing, and welcome to OnlyBucs!
Was reading this earlier today, Quinn Priester comments are pretty interesting. Personally I like the fangraphs list the best, as they give you a better sense of how strong the system is and how deep it is. 51 prospects is very solid depth and 12 rated 45 or above is very strong as well.
Great read! Thanks for sharing, and welcome to OnlyBucs!
Was reading this earlier today, Quinn Priester comments are pretty interesting. Personally I like the fangraphs list the best, as they give you a better sense of how strong the system is and how deep it is. 51 prospects is very solid depth and 12 rated 45 or above is very strong as well.
Re: Top 51 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates (FanGraphs)
thanks for posting.
Here are some comparisons
50 45 40 35
Pirates 8 4 30 9
Dodgers 5 10 21 14
Reds 4 6 13 13
Yanks 8 6 16 18
Indians 7 10 22 10
Rays 13 10 18 21
Pirates are in good shape compared to all above except the Rays. The Rays include three 60 prospects and one 80 prospect. Ke'Bryan Hayes is listed at 60 and Quin Priester 55.
7 on the Bucs list have at least made one appearance in the majors and 4 for the Rays.
Here are some comparisons
50 45 40 35
Pirates 8 4 30 9
Dodgers 5 10 21 14
Reds 4 6 13 13
Yanks 8 6 16 18
Indians 7 10 22 10
Rays 13 10 18 21
Pirates are in good shape compared to all above except the Rays. The Rays include three 60 prospects and one 80 prospect. Ke'Bryan Hayes is listed at 60 and Quin Priester 55.
7 on the Bucs list have at least made one appearance in the majors and 4 for the Rays.
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UtahPirate
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Re: Top 51 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates (FanGraphs)
Tahnaj Thomas at #4 is way higher than any other prospect list. Personally I think Thomas has been severely underrated on many lists, but obviously they think very highly of him.
I kind of laughed at Eddy Yean who has seemed overrated to me on these prospect lists. Get traded to another team and watch your prospect status fly. But FanGraphs pushes him all the way down to 25. They also pushed Siani a lot lower than other prospect lists.
I really liked Yajure when we got him from the Yankees. Honestly, I had been reserved about BC and most of his trades, until the Yankees trade for Taillon, which I thought was exceptional. Either Fangraphs really liked it too, or they over rank Yankees prospects as we got:
#7 - Yajure
#13 - Escotto
#15 - Contreras
#16 - Smith-Njigba
from that trade. I guess we can hope as it is all we have left ... again.
I kind of laughed at Eddy Yean who has seemed overrated to me on these prospect lists. Get traded to another team and watch your prospect status fly. But FanGraphs pushes him all the way down to 25. They also pushed Siani a lot lower than other prospect lists.
I really liked Yajure when we got him from the Yankees. Honestly, I had been reserved about BC and most of his trades, until the Yankees trade for Taillon, which I thought was exceptional. Either Fangraphs really liked it too, or they over rank Yankees prospects as we got:
#7 - Yajure
#13 - Escotto
#15 - Contreras
#16 - Smith-Njigba
from that trade. I guess we can hope as it is all we have left ... again.
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Bobster21
Re: Top 51 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates (FanGraphs)
I found Thomas at #4--ahead of Cruz--surprising, especially because the summary on him does not seem to justify it.
While his frame, athleticism and arm strength all remain elite, Thomas’ breaking stuff remains inconsistent and unremarkable, and he still lacks any modicum of changeup feel. I’m still confident Thomas will end up with a good breaking ball, even if it only gets there because of either his ability to command it so consistently or through sheer velocity if he ends up in the bullpen, which will happen if he can’t find a third pitch. He may need to experiment with a split if there’s going to be one since the action changeup grip and release didn’t seem to suit him in the Fall. A bullpen projection means Thomas would need to slide south on the top 100 closer to Brailyn Marquez, who’s closer to the big leagues. There remains huge upside here, in part because Thomas still hasn’t pitched all that much, and the pandemic prevented him from doing so. At one point Jacob deGrom was also nothing but arm strength and an elite pitcher’s frame, but Tahnaj has been hovering in that area for a little over a year now.
So it seems he is being ranked #4 because of raw arm strength, his frame and because he hasn't pitched much. Maybe--hopefully--those things will indeed result in him becoming a top prospect. But he hasn't played above rookie league and I think he has a lot to prove before nearing the top of the prospect rankings.
While his frame, athleticism and arm strength all remain elite, Thomas’ breaking stuff remains inconsistent and unremarkable, and he still lacks any modicum of changeup feel. I’m still confident Thomas will end up with a good breaking ball, even if it only gets there because of either his ability to command it so consistently or through sheer velocity if he ends up in the bullpen, which will happen if he can’t find a third pitch. He may need to experiment with a split if there’s going to be one since the action changeup grip and release didn’t seem to suit him in the Fall. A bullpen projection means Thomas would need to slide south on the top 100 closer to Brailyn Marquez, who’s closer to the big leagues. There remains huge upside here, in part because Thomas still hasn’t pitched all that much, and the pandemic prevented him from doing so. At one point Jacob deGrom was also nothing but arm strength and an elite pitcher’s frame, but Tahnaj has been hovering in that area for a little over a year now.
So it seems he is being ranked #4 because of raw arm strength, his frame and because he hasn't pitched much. Maybe--hopefully--those things will indeed result in him becoming a top prospect. But he hasn't played above rookie league and I think he has a lot to prove before nearing the top of the prospect rankings.
Re: Top 51 Prospects: Pittsburgh Pirates (FanGraphs)
I found the final paragraph in FanGraphs' overall assessment of the organization very insightul.
"I expect the Pirates to be very transactional over the next several months. There’s going to be pressure put on their 40-man next offseason. Mason Martin, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Cal Mitchell, Travis Swaggerty, Liover Peguero, Cody Bolton, Tahnaj Thomas, Michael Burrows and Eddy Yean are all Rule 5 eligible in 2021. That not only makes it important for the Pirates to clear space but also limits the kinds of prospects they can ask for in trade to lower-level sorts far from the 40-man.
In short, this assessment appears to define the type of moves that BC has been making since hired. Also very encouraging to see that the return for Tallion resulted in the acquisition of prospects who appear to have a real upside. Perhaps there is more than just unfounded hope for the future.
"I expect the Pirates to be very transactional over the next several months. There’s going to be pressure put on their 40-man next offseason. Mason Martin, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Cal Mitchell, Travis Swaggerty, Liover Peguero, Cody Bolton, Tahnaj Thomas, Michael Burrows and Eddy Yean are all Rule 5 eligible in 2021. That not only makes it important for the Pirates to clear space but also limits the kinds of prospects they can ask for in trade to lower-level sorts far from the 40-man.
In short, this assessment appears to define the type of moves that BC has been making since hired. Also very encouraging to see that the return for Tallion resulted in the acquisition of prospects who appear to have a real upside. Perhaps there is more than just unfounded hope for the future.