Fangraph’s Kiley McDaniel recently posted his updated list of the top 26 prospects and two Pittsburgh Pirates made the cut. Tyler Glasnow is 11th overall and Austin Meadows is ranked 18th.
McDaniel uses the 20-80 scouting scale to give players a future value(FV) ranking. Glasnow and Meadows both have a 60 FV, which is just below the 65 FV ranking of the top six players on the list, so you could say they are both in the second tier of his prospect list.
The interesting part is that he had Meadows ranked #31 on last year’s list, where he had a 55 FV, so McDaniel has raised the ceiling for Meadows this year. That shouldn’t be a surprise because he is having a strong season as one of the youngest players in the FSL, which is known as a pitcher’s league. His .758 OPS ranks ninth in the league and coaches in the league recently said he had the best strike zone judgement.
Glasnow was a 60 FV and ranked 13th last year, so he has basically maintained his prospect status this season. He has 113 strikeouts this year in 89.1 innings, spread across three levels. Glasnow has a 2.22 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP and a .199 BAA.
Glasnow and Meadows were the Pirates’ top two prospects according to MLB and they both made the top 18 for Keith Law.