Keith Law has released his mid-season top 50 prospects, and has four Pittsburgh Pirates prospects on the list. This is consistent with the previous prospect lists, which had 4-5 prospects listed.
Law has Tyler Glasnow as the top guy in the system, coming in ranked at number 20. That’s the same as his pre-season ranking. Law says that Glasnow has two above-average secondary offerings now, which shows the improvements he has made with his changeup. Fastball command is going to be a key thing for the right-hander to work on, and that’s the main thing Law points out. He says Glasnow has the upside of a number one starter.
The next prospect on the list is Josh Bell, who made a big jump to number 29, going up from 97 in the pre-season. Law says that Bell is back to where he was supposed to be, and calls him a middle of the order bat who could hit for average with 25-30 homers a year. Bell was recently promoted to Double-A, so the rest of the year should give a good view of how he performs against upper level pitching.
Jameson Taillon came in third, ranked number 38. Law was lower on him in the pre-season, ranking him 27th. Law previously said he’s got number one starter stuff, but has lack of deception and a below-average changeup. The changeup was something that Taillon was showing improvements with in 2013, so that rating could change once he comes back, if he continues to improve the pitch.
The final player is Austin Meadows, who comes in at number 40, down from his pre-season rank of 35. Law was high on Meadows as a sleeper in the pre-season, saying he could jump to the top 10. However, his hamstring injury prevented him from moving up the list. Law says he’s got the potential to be a middle of the order bat.
