Episode seven of The Pirates Prospects Podcast can be downloaded or streamed below. The MLB Draft is on Thursday, and to prepare we have a special draft-only podcast, featuring special guest Jim Callis (@jimcallisBA) of Baseball America. Highlights of the show include:
**John Dreker and I discuss the Pirates Prospects Top 100 Tiered Rankings, which can be found here. We give our thoughts on the 9th and 14th picks, plus some of the strengths that can be found in the second round.
**Jim Callis talks about Reese McGuire, noting that he could be an All-Star catcher, and would be the top catching prospect in the Pirates’ system.
**Callis gives his thoughts on Tony Sanchez this year, noting that he might not hit enough to be a regular.
**How do Austin Meadows and Clint Frazier stack up to McGuire?
**The Pirates have been linked to D.J. Peterson, who Jim says has the best combination in the draft of hitting for power and average.
**The Pirates have also been linked to Hunter Renfroe. Jim guesses it will be Renfroe or Peterson at 14.
**When could Peterson or Renfroe arrive in the majors?
**Jim gives his thoughts on former Pirates picks Jason Hursh, Dace Kime, Austin Kubitza, Kent Emanuel, Harrison Cooney, and Aaron Brown, who are all eligible for the draft again this year and all top 10 round picks.
**The second round has a lot of quality college starting pitchers. Callis says teams could take a guy in the second round who they feel is the 6th or 7th best college pitcher on their board.
**Jim gives his thoughts on guys in the Pirates system, including:
-Stetson Allie’s breakout season.
-Gerrit Cole’s command issues this year, whether Cole should come up first as a reliever.
-Whether Tyler Glasnow is a top five prospect, and the strength at the top of the system.
-Can Gregory Polanco challenge Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon for the top spot in the system?
-Callis feels Polanco could be a .280/20 HR/20 SB center fielder, which he says is an All Star.
**Jim and I discuss numerical rankings versus the value of the prospect reports.
**Jim says the College World Series, and says The Drover in Omaha is his favorite place to eat. He also lists Jack Stack in Kansas City, and a few BBQ places in North Carolina in his “Top Five”.
Click here to download the show (right-click and “Save Link As”) or stream it below.
