Keith Law updated his list of the top 50 prospects and three Pittsburgh Pirates made the list. If you remember the original list, this might seem like a disappointing update. Law had five Pirates in his top 50 back in January, but his rules for this updated list eliminated two players from consideration. First, let’s take a look at the preseason list:
9. Austin Meadows
14. Josh Bell
16. Mitch Keller
25. Tyler Glasnow
33. Kevin Newman
That list included Josh Bell and Tyler Glasnow, but neither were considered for the current list. Bell surpassed the 130 at-bat mark in the majors, which means he isn’t a prospect anymore. Just the fact that he was in the majors meant that Law dropped him from the updated list, but going over 130 at-bats also made him ineligible.
I’m assuming Glasnow would have still made the top 50 if eligible, especially since six other players from the preseason list are in the majors. That means he would have needed to drop at least 32 spots to not make the top 50, and the only players who saw significant drops from the preseason are injured pitchers (more on that below). Glasnow is currently 25.1 innings away from losing his prospect status.
As for the players who are still on the list, Austin Meadows moves up one spot to 8th overall. Mitch Keller moves up four spots, now ranking 12th, while Kevin Newman is now the 26th best prospect in the minors according to Law.
If you consider the players Law took off the list, then Meadows actually dropped one spot, getting passed up by third baseman Rafael Devers of the Boston Red Sox. Keller moved up one spot, passing Alex Reyes, the Cardinals pitcher, who recently had Tommy John surgery. Newman moved up two spots, and both players he passed were pitchers who needed Tommy John surgery, Reyes and James Kaprielian of the New York Yankees.
