MLB Pipeline continued their rankings of the top prospects at each position on Tuesday morning. After Ji-Hwan Bae was the first representative of the Pittsburgh Pirates to make a top ten list yesterday (second base), Ke’Bryan Hayes was named the second best third base prospect. Hayes ranked behind Alex Bohm of the Philadelphia Phillies for the top spot, and he may end up as a first baseman in the majors. Bohm played 32 games at first base in 2019.
Pipeline ranked each player by their tools and Hayes received some high praise there. He was tied with two others for the best hit tool, receiving a 60 grade. He was named as the fastest runner in the group (55 grade) and the best defender, receiving a 65 grade for his defense. Pipeline also ranked him as the third base prospect with the highest floor, noting that he’s going to step right into the majors with Gold Glove defense when he gets called up.
Hayes had a slow start to 2019, as he had to adjust to the way he was getting pitched to by more experienced pitchers in Triple-A. He finished with a .265/.336/.415 slash line in 110 games. His best month was August, where he had an .831 OPS in 28 games.
Hayes received some praise last week from MLB Pipeline, who ranked him as the best defensive third baseman and best defender among all Pittsburgh Pirates. That was after MLB executives voted him as the second best defensive player in all of the minors.
