Baseball Prospectus released their top 101 prospects today, and the Pittsburgh Pirates had five players on the list.
The highest ranked player was Gerrit Cole, who came in as the third best prospect and the top pitching prospect. This is the highest Cole has been ranked in any of the top 100 prospect lists. Jason Parks questioned why people don’t love Cole, noting that his on-paper stuff is the best in the minors.
Jameson Taillon came in next at number 11. This was also the best ranking that Taillon has seen in any of the top 100 prospect lists.
Gregory Polanco was ranked 44th overall, with BP picking him over fellow 2012 breakout prospect Alen Hanson.
Luis Heredia also came in ahead of Hanson, ranking 53rd. This is the second year in a row that BP has put Heredia around the top 50. Last year he was ranked 42nd.
Finally, Hanson came in at number 66, putting all five of the Pirates prospects in the top 66 players.
Overall, the BP rankings have been the most favorable to the Pirates this year.