ESPN prospect watcher Keith Law has released his Top 20 Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects
It is no secret that the Pittsburgh Pirates have a solid pipeline. The particulars may be hotly debated at times, but that fact remains.
ESPN prospect watcher Keith Law is one of the more respected minor league observers in baseball. He has now released his Top 20 Pittsburgh Pirates prospects. If you are an ESPN Insider, click here to read the full piece.
No Surprises at Top
Law’s top six should come as no surprise, though some ordering is interesting. More on that in a moment, but for now, here are his top ten:
#1 – OF Austin Meadows
#2 – 1B/OF Josh Bell
#3 – RHP Mitch Keller
#4 – RHP Tyler Glasnow
#5 – SS Kevin Newman
#6 – 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes
#7 – C Elias Diaz
#8 – SS/2B Cole Tucker
#9 – RHP Nick Kingham
#10 – RHP Gage Hinsz
Law’s top ten contains the usual suspects, with several key differences. For one, most prospect rankings have been putting Glasnow ahead of Keller. Glasnow’s inauspicious start to his MLB career continues to be divisive, and the control issues Glasnow exhibited likely play into Law’s rankings.
Hinsz also appears higher on Law’s list than most other rankings. Regarding his esteem for Hinsz, Law had this to say:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”Keith Law” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]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.[/perfectpullquote]Among the rest of Law’s Top 20 Pittsburgh Pirates prospects, another batch of usual names are mentioned, though Law is down on Alen Hanson in particular.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”Keith Law” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]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.[/perfectpullquote]With Hanson out of options, the Pittsburgh Pirates will have to heavily weigh their next move with the infielder. He is not a trade chip, and the club could feel they have better depth with other players.
Click here to see Law’s full list. (ESPN Insider Subscription required)
Image Credit – Flickr Creative Commons
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