Tuesday has turned into Ke’Bryan Hayes day here. Keith Law started his rankings of the top 100 prospects in the game on Monday morning with the 81-100 players on his list. The Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t have anyone in the bottom 1/5th of the top 100 prospects, but third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes entered the list at #74 on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, Hayes was ranked as the ninth best third base prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Law had some nice things to say about Hayes. He called him an elite defensive third baseman, who has a great feel for hitting. He thinks Hayes will add power to his game due to his hit tool, combined with some loft to his swing and room to add muscle to his frame. He believes Hayes will end up being a player who could put up an OBP around .350 each year, with 35 doubles and 10-12 homers.
I’ll note that Law only mentions his rib injury, so you have to wonder if the back injury that caused him to miss most of last year would have any effect on the rankings. Hayes came back from the back injury (swelling of the rhomboid muscles) and played in the GCL, only to be shutdown after two games with a cracked rib.
The Pirates should be well-represented on the complete list unless Law is really down on one of their top prospects. Most top prospects lists for the Pirates have Tyler Glasnow, Josh Bell, Austin Meadows and Mitch Keller in their top four, though there is no consensus order for those players. Then Kevin Newman ranks fifth, before you get various opinions of who should fill out the rest of the top ten. Since Keith Law is always high on Newman, the Pirates should have six players make his top 100 and five will be among the top 60 prospects.
Law had three Pirates in his top 20 back in mid-July when he did his mid-season update. Glasnow was eighth, followed by Newman at #17 and Meadows two spots lower. He didn’t have Bell in his top 50, but Bell wasn’t eligible for the list because he was in the majors at the time. Mitch Keller didn’t make his top 50 either, though I can’t imagine he will miss that group this time around. At this time last year, Glasnow, Meadows, Bell and Newman all made his top 100 list. Jameson Taillon did not make that list.
Law will post his 41-60 prospects tomorrow morning.
