At the start of this week, I released Version 4.0 of the Pittsburgh Pirates Top 50 Tiered Prospect Rankings. You can check out that article for reports on the top 30 players, or go to the Top 50 page for the full list.
On Tuesday, I started a series called “Down the Stretch”, which looks at the prospects to follow at each full-season affiliate for the remainder of the 2024 season. The first article in the series looks at the prospect rich rotation in Indianapolis.
These rankings are unique. They are my own view of the system, as someone who watches the minor leagues every single day, and as someone who has more knowledge on the subject than anyone in the Pirates media realm. That doesn’t mean my opinion is perfect. It just means that there’s no one who can sway me from my opinion on a player, and there’s no group-think approach here.
As I mentioned in the top 50 update, this is the first year I’ve embraced this “expert” approach. I’ve been creating my own methodology for ranking prospects, and version 4.0 provided the biggest update. I’m already working on the changes for version 5.0, which will be released at the end of the minor league season.
From there, I’ll decide if I want to continue doing this next year. At the start of this season, I made a personal commitment for one year and an option for 2025.
If I can be honest, this is all boring to me. There’s no challenge in writing about prospects as someone who already knows what 90% of people in baseball (and in the world) are trying to figure out about life. I also have too much confidence in my baseball knowledge to ever be able to work for a Major League team, as most of them require a more submissive and less independent person for their hires. I could change, but I’ve decided I’m no longer changing for anyone in this world. Baseball is essentially a dead end for me, though my years in the game have gotten me to a point that few people reach in life.
These rankings are the one thing I’ve really looked forward to, as they provide something new in my 16th season of writing about the Pirates and player development. I’ll be expanding out the breakdowns of those rankings over the next week, before getting to the monotony of September baseball covering the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pirates Lose to the Cubs
Before Tuesday’s game, the Pirates activated Jared Jones and Carmen Mlodzinski from the injured list. The return from Jones didn’t go well. He allowed five runs on five hits in four innings, with two homers leading to the bulk of the damage. Mlodzinski had a better return, throwing two shutout innings in relief.
Bryan De La Cruz had another big game at the plate, going 2-for-4 with his 19th homer of the year and his 23rd double. Oneil Cruz had a bigger day, going 4-for-4 with his 30th double of the season and his 18th stolen base. Nick Gonzales hit his 14th double of the year.
The Pirates lost to the Cubs 9-5, with Ben Heller and Jalen Beeks each giving up two unearned runs in the fifth, after an error by Gonzales extended the inning.
Minor League Promotions
The Pirates opened this week’s minor league schedule with a lot of promotions in the lower levels. The biggest move was the official promotion of Termarr Johnson to Double-A Altoona. Making his debut on Tuesday night, Johnson went 0-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base.
Michael Kennedy, Carlos Jimenez, Javier Rivas, and 2024 9th rounder Duce Gourson were promoted to Greensboro.
Carlos Caro was promoted to Bradenton, while the Marauders activated a few pitchers off the injured list.
Read about all of the players who were on the move in Tuesday’s transactions article.
Pirates Prospect Watch
Jhonny Severino hit for the cycle in Bradenton on Tuesday night. Zander Mueth had his best start in Single-A during the same game. Mike Burrows threw four shutout innings for Indianapolis. Read about all of Tuesday’s minor league action in the latest Pirates Prospect Watch.
