Pirates' minor league talent in middle of MLB, but analyst calls it a 'system on the rise'

After adding an influx of prospects since Ben Cherington was hired as general manager, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league talent ranks in the middle among MLB teams.

One baseball analyst, however, called it a “system on the rise” upon releasing new farm system rankings Wednesday.

New post for @TheAthletic subscribers - ranking all 30 farm systems, with @RaysBaseball coming in at #1: https://t.co/2Z9hKosbca

— keithlaw (@keithlaw) February 10, 2021

Keith Law of The Athletic placed the Pirates 16th out of 30 MLB teams but credited Cherington’s strategy of trading veteran talent such as All-Star first baseman Josh Bell and pitchers Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon in three deals for a total haul of 11 prospects.

“The Pirates were probably due for a change in approach on the minor league side, as many things they’d tried just hadn’t worked out in practice,” Law wrote, “with first-round picks coming up short and a lot of pitchers getting hurt or just failing to develop, but the two big trades they made this winter have infused a lot of talent into the system, and their international side has brought in some very talented prospects who just haven’t gotten to play in the U.S. yet.

“I think this is a system on the rise for a variety of reasons, and some is just a function of bad luck turning around given enough time.”

At Baseball America today, our farm system rankings from 1-30. https://t.co/cbKXV9kgIY

— Ben Badler (@BenBadler) February 10, 2021

Baseball America ranks the Pirates’ farm system No. 13, noting their four top-100 prospects in third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes (No. 15), shortstop Oneil Cruz (50), second baseman Nick Gonzales (51) and right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester (58). That’s a major jump for the Pirates, who ranked No. 23 in 2020.

Since Cherington was hired in November 2019, the Pirates have added a number of highly regarded prospects. Shortstop Liover Peguero and right-hander Brennan Malone came from Arizona in the Starling Marte trade. The Pirates selected Gonzales, regarded as college baseball’s top hitter, No. 7 overall and added righties Carmen Mlodzinski, Jared Jones and Nick Garcia last June in the MLB Draft.

Trading Bell to Washington brought right-handers Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean. Sending Musgrove to San Diego returned center fielder Hudson Head, lefty Omar Cruz and righty reliever David Bednar, and the three-way deal brought catcher Endy Rodriguez from the New York Mets. And by trading Taillon to the New York Yankees, the Pirates received right-handers Miguel Yajure and Roansy Contreras, outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba and infielder Maikol Escotto.

“Unlike the previous regime, Pittsburgh targeted high-risk, but higher upside in its offseason trades” Baseball America wrote. “Many of those prospects will likely wash out, but it has helped Pittsburgh replenish its farm system with players with the potential to be quality everyday regulars.”

The Tampa Bay Rays, who have the game’s top prospect in shortstop Wander Franco, were No. 1 in both The Athletic and Baseball America rankings.