Baseball America has released their top 10 prospects for the 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates. The list can be viewed here, and subscribers can read the scouting reports here. Leading the list was 2011 first round pick Gerrit Cole. He was followed by 2010 first round pick Jameson Taillon. That’s exactly how we have them rated in the Pirates Prospects top 50. From there, the lists differ.
Baseball America has Josh Bell third, Starling Marte fourth, and Luis Heredia fifth. We have the same players, but not in that order. I’d imagine pretty much every list will include the same top five, as there is a clear drop off after this group of potential impact players.
In the six through ten spots, Baseball America has Kyle McPherson, Tony Sanchez, Robbie Grossman, Stetson Allie, and Jeff Locke. Again, I’d imagine a lot of lists will have similar players, although there’s a lot of players in the 11-20 ranks who could make a case for the back end of the top ten list, as the talent between the number ten prospect in the system and the number 20 prospect in the system isn’t that different.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
I really cannot see why the new CBA is not being taken as negatively as it should be. I mean, limits to international signings, and caps on drafts make no sense and really hurt the lower market teams. These moves would be fine, but, only paired with a salary cap and floor, which would never happen.
Additionally, if you look at the 2012 top 10 list, you might notice Jose Tabata is off of the 2015 projected starting lineup. While not out of the realm of possibility, I am not sure how I feel about that, even knowing the lineup is completely subjective and all.
Maybe Bell gets moved to first base eventually?
The Pirates are quite deep in talent through the minor league system, most organizations would have a hard time finding a top ten with more talent, they might find a couple of players in their systems that are better, but not 10.
How they can leave Mercer off this list is amazing to me, he is the best power hitter in the organization right now. Hernandez is a top shelf defensive player, but I think Marte is better.
I agree. While I like Gorys I do not see him as anything but an off the bench defender or base runner. The top 10 is great right now and poised to add more going forward. Cole and Taillon I am hoping can become a Matt Cain/Tim Lincecum-like duo, not saying they are the same type of players, but, as far as having a solid #1 and #2 , that would give something the Pirates haven’t had in a very long time.
Bud Selig spoke about us spending too much money back in August? Next time you talk to any Pirate management, can you bring this up? Is Selig aware that 3 years of drafting does not even equal 1/6th of the Yankees current team salary let alone what they spend in the draft. God do I hate Bud Selig.