OnlyBucs

Quinn Priester wins the #4 spot by one vote in a run-off. Back to the usual at the #5 position. Adding potential starting LF Kevin Kramer to the poll (I think that's more of an indictment of the Pirates system), tbh.



The results so far:

1. Mitch Keller, SP, 23, AAA/ML, 63.2% of the votes

2. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B, 22, AAA 79.6% of the votes

3. O'Neil Cruz, 21, SS?, High A, 71.7% of the votes

4. Quinn Priester, 19, SP, Rookie, 23.6% of the votes, won run-off for #4

Maybe I'm just cheerleading for our young pitchers, but their stats do look better than most of our better prospects. Going with Cody Bolton over Mason Martin, and I realize my list is totally different than the Buc's Official Site.

I can't believe the love for Swaggerty. This guy is not going to be a Meadows or anywhere near him. Until he learns how to not swing through strikes he will be no better the Luplow was. I would not rate him higher that #9.

But it makes no sense to me that he should be tied for #4 but not #5.



edit--looking around, and not knowing the value of any of these lists, most rank Swaggerty like 3-7 on the Pirates top 10 (Tim at PP is more bearish on him than most of the others). Not saying anybody's right or wrong, but it's not like the ranking here would be way out of line with common thinking.

6C5E52524674575E5356595E3F0 wrote: But it makes no sense to me that he should be tied for #4 but not #5.



edit--looking around, and not knowing the value of any of these lists, most rank Swaggerty like 3-7 on the Pirates top 10 (Tim at PP is more bearish on him than most of the others).  Not saying anybody's right or wrong, but it's not like the ranking here would be way out of line with common thinking.


what this shows to me is that there aren't many players that don't have a lot to improve on before helping the Pirates.

well yeah, heh.

The scouting reports on Swaggerty have remained positive, with most still maintaining he's a top 100 prospect in the game. Sometimes with these young guys, they take a couple years to adjust. Who knows?



Point is, it takes more than just stats when judging high school players quite often. Maybe this is one of those times?

"Swaggerty was lightly recruited out of the Louisiana high school ranks, and after not being drafted, he headed to South Alabama. Swaggerty jumped on the radar with a huge sophomore year and performed well for Team USA that summer, building anticipation for his junior year in 2018. That turned out to be a bit inconsistent for the outfielder, though he did hit 13 home runs. The Pirates liked the overall resume enough to take him No. 10 overall, and he reached full-season ball in his debut summer.



Swaggerty has the potential to have at least big league average tools across the board. The left-handed hitter has an incredibly patient approach, getting on base a ton, which should allow him to use his speed to his advantage frequently. There's a bit too much swing and miss at times, often offset by that walk rate, as he can get too aggressive at the plate. That was particularly true in 2018, when some felt he was trying to sell out for power too often. He does have the kind of raw pop that should allow him to naturally find the seats without taking him out of his gameplan at the plate.



The speed that makes Swaggerty a basestealing threat also allows him to cover a lot of ground in center field, where he has every chance to stay long-term. He has a strong arm from the position to boot. Swaggerty's all-around tools and plus makeup should give him the chance to be an impact everyday center fielder in the big leagues."



Here's the MLB.com writeup on swaggerty.



He can steal bases, has some pop and plays and can play CF. The overall slugging percentage is low, but he did play in a pitching friendly league. Even with the swing and miss and the lack of Xbh, he did post a respectable OBP, which is important because of his speed (turning singles into doubles).