In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
As MLB.com’s Adam Berry wrote Saturday, the Pittsburgh Pirates had five prospects named in MLBPipeline.com’s Top 100 Prospect’s list. The Bucs representatives included Tyler Glasnow (No. 9), Austin Meadows (No. 10), Josh Bell (No. 27), Mitch Keller (No. 48) and Kevin Newman (No. 59).
Seeing the Pirates place this many prospects on the list should excite any Pirates fan. Especially since nearly all of them made the top 50. In fact, the Pirates are the only team to have two prospects in the top 10. The Red Sox could have had the top two prospects in all of baseball with Andrew Benintendi and Yoan Moncada, but they shipped Moncada off to the Chicago White Sox in the Chris Sale trade.
Aside from just the fact that these young stars were placed on this list, Pirates fans should also be excited about the fact that most, if not all, of these five players are a short way away from getting to the big leagues.
Glasnow and Bell have already tasted the majors and could have a big impact in 2017. In fact, I see Bell as being the Pirates best opening day first baseman option, but I guess his performance in spring training will likely dictate that.
Glasnow has an opportunity to work for a starting rotation spot at the MLB level, but so do plenty of other young talent. Nothing is guaranteed for any of the Pirates young starters, which means the team will have to choose from the best of their young crop once spring training ends.
While Mitch Keller and Kevin Newman may take the longest to reach the majors, they’re still young and could be a part of the Pirates plans for years to come. Keller has proven to be a part of the Pirates next young crop of starters while Newman could potentially be a force in the Pirates infield either at shortstop or another position.
Austin Meadows on the other hand could make an impact as early as this year. Meadows, who has multiple tools that make him a top notch prospect, will likely be the player to follow in Andrew Mccutcheon’s footsteps as Cutch’s long-term future with the Bucs is a relative mystery.
None of the Pirates prospects named in the list are a surprise. However, anytime this top 100 list releases, it’s exciting to see all of the young talent that will soon grace big league clubs with highlight reel defensive plays, clutch offensive situations and unforgettable moments.
Seeing the Pirates represented in such fashion not only by a pair of current major leaguers, but a trio of other talented youngsters should give Pirates fans hope that more unforgettable moments are coming soon to PNC Park.
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