The off-season seems to last forever, but I’m pretty sure it’ll end someday and there’ll be major league and minor league baseball again. Maybe you’re thinking about splurging on season tickets for one of the Pirates’ minor league affiliates. You know . . . minor league baseball at minor league prices, instead of PNC prices. Or maybe you’re just curious which affiliates might be the most interesting next year.
I got curious myself, so I’ve done top-ten-prospect lists for each of the full-season affiliates. These are obviously tentative, since we don’t know what the assignments will be. I’ve been working from a depth chart that you can see here.
The chart shows the levels where I think each player will have at least a reasonable chance of opening 2023. As a prediction or projection, it’s not going to be accurate. Some guys won’t start where I have them listed; Luis Ortiz, for instance, is very unlikely to open in Pittsburgh, although he should at least get a shot at it. Some of the pitchers I’ve listed for the Pirates won’t make the roster, and they’ll push other guys from Indianapolis to Altoona, and so on. And there’ll be personnel moves, starting probably with the Rule 5 draft.
There’s also the fact that the Pirates are seeing a lot that we’re not privy to, in workouts, fall instructs and the like. That can have a lot of impact, especially with players taking steps forward. A year ago, it would have been hard to predict that Ortiz would skip Greensboro, for instance, but something convinced the Pirates.
So here are some prospective top tens, as things stand now. And I should add that these rankings are mine alone. The Pirates Prospects rankings will go live on the site in December.
Indianapolis
1. Endy Rodriguez, C
2. Quinn Priester, RHP
3. Mike Burrows, RHP
4. Nick Gonzales, 2B
5. Liover Peguero, SS
6. Malcom Nunez, 1B
7. Blake Sabol, C
8. Jared Triolo, 3B
9. Colin Selby, RHP
10. Matt Gorski, 1B/OF
Altoona
1. Henry Davis, C
2. Jared Jones, RHP
3. Dariel Lopez, IF
4. Nick Garcia, RHP
5. Hudson Head, OF
6. Abrahan Gutierrez, C
7. Matt Fraizer, OF
8. Ricky DeVito, RHP
9. Omar Cruz, LHP
10. Cristian Charle, RHP
Greensboro
1. Termarr Johnson, SS
2. Bubba Chandler, RHP/SS
3. Anthony Solometo, LHP
4. Carlos Jimenez, RHP
5. Jack Brannigan, RHP/3B
6. Tsung-Che Cheng, SS
7. Po-Yu Chen, RHP
8. Rodolfo Nolasco, OF
9. Jauri Custodio, OF
10. Tres Gonzalez, OF
Bradenton
1. Lonnie White, Jr., OF
2. Javier Rivas, SS
3. Thomas Harrington, RHP
4. Shalin Polanco, OF
5. Hung-Leng Chang, RHP
6. Antwone Kelly, RHP
7. Enmanuel Terrero, OF
8. Braylon Bishop, OF
9. Esmerlyn Valdez, OF
10. Jesus Castillo, IF
Obviously, Indy is the place to be. That list could have gone to 20. Altoona is the opposite. Once you get past Davis, there may not be a whole lot to watch there, unless some guys like Head and Lopez break out.
Greensboro is potentially explosive at the top, especially if the Pirates go ahead and send Johnson there. Bradenton, naturally, should be very volatile, with a bunch of guys hoping to get on the map. Ideally, a few players, especially pitchers, will come out of nowhere.
In case you’re wondering about Hunter Barco, who was one of the Pirates’ top 2022 draftees, he isn’t likely to pitch in 2023, or at least not much, in the aftermath of Tommy John. I left him out.
