Led by Henry Davis, the Pirates have 6 prospects ranked in top 100 by The Athletic

The Pittsburgh Pirates have six prospects ranked in the top 100 by The Athletic’s Keith Law, including one in the top 20 whose selection is sure to raise some eyebrows.

The surprise?

Their highest-rated Pirates prospect is catcher Henry Davis, who is ranked No. 20 in The Athletic’s top 100. Shortstop Oneil Cruz, ranked in the top 15 by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus, is No. 65 by The Athletic.

The other Pirates prospects ranked by The Atheltic are right-hander Quinn Priester (No. 57), shortstop Liover Peguero (No. 77), right-hander Roansy Contreras (No. 83) and second baseman Nick Gonzales (No. 93).

A former special assistant to the general manager with the Toronto Blue Jays who has been covering baseball for 15 years, Law said he prefers to favor prospects based on their upside.

Law called Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, “an offensive catcher with outstanding bat-to-ball and pitch recognition skills, along with plus game power” and suggests that his bat should allow him to reach the majors quickly, if he can develop his receiving, blocking and game-calling.”

Priester, who moved up from No. 73 in the 2021 rankings, is expected to start the season with Double-A Altoona. Priester is projected as a No. 2 starter in the majors, thanks to a four-pitch repertoire “with both the curve and his new-ish slider flashing plus,” wrote Law, who also notes that Priester’s control improved over the course of last season.

Law notes that the odds area against the 6-foot-7 Cruz, who was not ranked last year, staying at shortstop long term in the majors after making his debut there for two games this past October. Law, however, pumped Cruz’s power potential after his first big-league hit set a club Statcast-era record with an exit velocity of 118.2 mph.

“He has four plus tools in his hit, power and run tools, plus a cannon for an arm,” Law wrote. “And if he’s not a shortstop, there’s a position somewhere where he’ll be plus — maybe it’s third base, at worst it’s an outfield corner. Maybe he’s a unicorn and becomes a superstar at short. The base rate says players his size don’t stay at short, though, so it’s probably a good thing that he projects to be an impact hitter at any position.”

Peguero is rated a plus defender at shortstop, and Law projects a “high floor as a utility infielder because of his defense and potential for 20 homers, with 20/20 upside as a true shortstop as long as he continues to gain strength and tightens his approach on pitches in the zone.”

Law expresses concern over Contreras missing time last season with a right forearm strain, yet compliments him for adding a mid-80s slider to go with “his improved and now very high-spin curveball. He also has a power changeup with screwball-like action in the upper 80s which has been effective against right-handed hitters as well as left.”

Law notes that Gonzales benefited from playing at a hitter’s park in High-A Greensboro last summer and considers him “more a mistake hitter with power than a hit-first guy, struggling in my looks with fastballs up and in and some breaking stuff in the zone as well.”

“He looks like a low-OBP, 20-25 homer guy at second base, and given the low level of offense at that position right now, that would make him an everyday guy, with upside if he tightens up his ability to make contact inside the zone.”

The Athletic is the third outlet to rank at least five Pirates prospects in their top 100: Baseball America had Cruz (14), Davis (41), Gonzales (49), Peguero (78), Contreras (80) and Priester (88), while Baseball Prospectus ranked Cruz (12), Davis (18), Gonzales (29), Peguero (38) and Contreras (89).

MLB.com has yet to release its top 100 prospects list.