Pittsburgh Pirates: Top 10 Rookie-Eligible Prospects for 2018
We have reached the point of the offseason where prospect lists abound. We continue our top 10 prospects for every team with the Pittsburgh Pirates!
Our team top 10 prospect lists at Call to the Pen are spearheaded by Benjamin Chase. Today, he gives us the top ten prospects for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
This season, we will be going through teams by division, in order of 2017 record. The AL East will be first, followed by the AL Central and AL West. Then the focus will shift to the National League in the same order.
The format will be as it was last season for the same lists, with a system review, which will include last season’s list. The top 10 will follow in reverse order, two players per page in order to give adequate space to each player. Major trades or international signings will lead to an updated top 10!
Finally, don’t go away after #1 is revealed as each list will also contain a player either signed in the 2017 international free agent class or drafted in 2017 that isn’t part of the top 10 and should be tracked. Last season’s mentions in that area made over half of the top 10s this season, so this is a great way to get to know a player who could be making a big splash in the organization.
System overview
As the Pittsburgh Pirates have enjoyed a return to competitiveness over the last few years, they have done so primarily on the strength of excellent development in their farm system. Even now, their projected starting lineup from Roster Resource, 5 of the 8 made their major league debut with the Pirates as well as 3/5 of the rotation.
The Pirates made a pair of significant trades over the offseason that have many assuming that the team is headed toward a period of retooling again, though trading Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole may end up opening spots for the top two prospects in the farm system by the end of 2018, both of whom are highly-regarded prospects.
This isn’t the same level of system that was ranked top 5 multiple times in the 2000s as the team was building up toward competitiveness, but there is plenty of raw talent that will require development but have the upside of an elite prospect.
Let’s take a look at that system….
Next: #9 and #10