Baseball America continued their rankings of the top prospects by position on Monday. They went with third basemen, which didn’t have anyone from the Pittsburgh Pirates. On Tuesday, they listed the top shortstops and two Pirates made the list, which went to 30 spots. Oneil Cruz is rated as the fourth best shortstop, while Liover Peguero ranks as their 19th best shortstop. Just to show you how deep this position is right now, Peguero ranks 78th on Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list. In fact, BA rated it as a five-star (out of five) class.
Cruz missed part of last year with a forearm injury, but he did well when he played in Altoona, hitting .292/.346/.536 in 62 games, with 12 homers and 18 steals. He then hit five homers (and eight walks) in six games with Indianapolis, followed by another homer in his two games with the Pirates. Surprisingly, the 23-year-old didn’t play winter ball this year, which would have helped with the missed time in 2021 and now the lockout cutting into spring games. No reason was ever given for why he didn’t play as expected.
Peguero also missed some time in 2021, limiting him to 90 games. He hit .270/.332/.444 in the hitter-friendly Greensboro environment, with 14 homers and 28 steals. He was also three years younger than the average player in the league.
The Pirates had Nick Gonzales ranked second on the second base list. They came up empty on the first base list in a weak year for the position, but Henry Davis ranked seventh among all catchers in a strong year for backstops. The lists will continue into next week with each individual outfielder spot and RHP/LHP.
