MLB.com announced their top 100 prospects list. See the link and updates at the bottom of this page. Jim Callis mentioned on the radio earlier this week that there were seven Pittsburgh Pirates players on the list and the final tally is at the bottom of this page.
Based on the top ten at each position, Tyler Glasnow should head the Pirates list. He ranked third overall for right-handed pitchers, trailing two highly touted prospects in Noah Syndergaard of the New York Mets and Lucas Giolito of the Washington Nationals. Glasnow will be live tweeting during the show, which is something usually reserved for guys that rank in the top 50.
https://twitter.com/TGlasnow/status/560847494599278592
It will be interesting to see where MLB.com has Austin Meadows ranked. He was recently rated #2 in the Pirates system by both Keith Law and John Sickels. MLB Pipeline had him eighth among outfielders though, which is just below where Law had him ranked among outfielders in his top 100 list. Baseball America had Meadows ranked third in the Pirates’ system, trailing Glasnow and Jameson Taillon. Just like Glasnow, Meadows will be tweeting during the show.
Going to be tweeting during @MLBNetwork's Top 50 Prospects show for @MLBPipeline, Friday at 9 pm ET. Join me by using #mlbpipeline
— Austin Meadows (@austin_meadows) January 30, 2015
Jameson Taillon didn’t make the top ten for right-handed pitchers this year, but he did get an honorable mention, so he was considered for the list. It is a deep position, so that doesn’t mean he will drop far down their rankings, but he won’t be as high as last year when MLB.com had him fifth among right-handed pitchers and ranked 16th overall.
Reese McGuire was ranked seventh among catchers both last year and this year. MLB.com had him ranked just outside the top 100 last year, mentioning that he almost made the list. McGuire had a strong season on defense in 2014 and wasn’t overmatched at that plate as one of the youngest players in full-season ball. That should get him into the top 100.
Josh Bell was ranked as the best first base prospect, though the position isn’t deep. He will be in the top 100, as Callis mentioned that only two first baseman made their list, but it should be interesting to see where he ends up. Keith Law had him 60th and most people have him either third or fourth among Pirates players.
Alen Hanson should also make the top 100 list. He was an honorable mention by Jonathan Mayo last night, and just missed out on the shortstops list, which is a deep position for prospects.
If I had to guess the final player in their top 100, I’d say it is Nick Kingham, although he might not be the lowest Pirates player on the list. During their mid-season rankings, MLB.com had seven Pirates on their list and Kingham was ranked 66th overall, ahead of both Alen Hanson and Reese McGuire.
Update: 9:07 PM: The #51-100 prospects rankings was released and the Pirates have three in the second half of the list. Reese McGuire ranked #64, jumping up big in the rankings from last year. Nick Kingham was ranked #74, dropping a few spots from the mid-season rankings. Alen Hanson is the seventh Pirates player on the list, ranking 92nd overall. Austin Meadows was the first Pirates player in the top 50, rank 46th overall.
Update: 9:18 PM: Josh Bell ranked #34, which means Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow are the top two ranked prospects on the Pirates.
Update: 9:21 PM: Jameson Taillon ended up dropping 15 spots from last year. He is 31st overall.
Update: 9:38 PM: Tyler Glasnow nabbed the top spot among Pirates players and finished 12th overall. No real surprises on the list. I’ll add the link once it’s up on their site. The final rankings of Pirates players in MLB.com’s top 100 are:
12. Tyler Glasnow
31. Jameson Taillon
34. Josh Bell
46. Austin Meadows
64. Reese McGuire
74. Nick Kingham
92. Alen Hanson
Update: 10:02 PM: Here is the top 100 list. They have a write-up and list the scouting grades for each player. The Pirates were the only team with more than six prospects in the top 100.
