We posted yesterday about the Indianapolis Indians being named as one of the best teams for prospects in the minors. That link also had two news items from Baseball America, as they mentioned 50 prospects turning heads in Spring Training, along with a very small update to their top 100 list. Today we look at another link from BA with relevant information for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
BA posted their daily best tools article from around the minors. Here’s a look at how the Pirates did in their ratings.
Termarr Johnson was named as the second best hitter in the minors behind Sal Frelick of the Milwaukee Brewers. BA only listed the top five, but Endy Rodriguez was one of the six honorable mentions. Johnson is currently still out due to his spring hamstring injury, but he should still play a large majority of this season.
Matt Gorski got an honorable mention in the best power category. He received the top spot in all of baseball for best outfield arm. He hit an impressive opposite field homer in the Altoona opener. I knew he had a good arm, but had no idea it was considered to be the best in the minors among prospects.
Jared Triolo received an honorable mention in the best defensive infielder category. No surprise here as he has won a Gold Glove in 2021, when they only hand out one per position in all of the minors. He is currently out due to hamate surgery earlier this week.
Bubba Chandler was one of eight honorable mentions in the best fastball category. BA noted in yesterday’s article how well Chandler’s fastball has looked this spring.
Luis Ortiz and Mike Burrows each received honorable mentions in the best breaking ball category for their sliders. Both are off to solid stats this season, and could be ready for the big league rotation with some progress early this year. Ortiz has been doing strong with results, but with high pitch counts that limited his outings, while Burrows had just one strikeout in an otherwise terrific outing.
