As the MLB season draws closer, I am going to be doing my own MLB preseason power rankings. These power rankings will be a little different than others. I’ll explain why I have each team where they are ranked, but I will also talk about notable additions, losses, and the team’s farm system. By doing this you can see how the future of the team is looking and if they can sustain success or become successful soon.
Starting it off with number 30, we have the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Notable Additions: Hudson Head, Eddy Yean
Notable Losses: Joe Musgrove, Jameson Taillon, Josh Bell, Chris Archer
Current Top 5 prospects: Nick Gonzales, Ke’Byran Hayes, Oneil Cruz, Quinn Preister, Liover Peguero
The Pirates were the worst team in the MLB last season with a 19-41 record and scored the least amount of runs in the league. They recently traded away three of their most notable players, Joe Musgrove, Jameson Taillon, and Josh Bell. This does not leave much excitement to be a Pirates fan. It also is not surprising they did this as well, for this is the same team that traded away, Gerrit Cole and Starling Marte before they were due for contract extensions
They don’t have many household names, their rotation has gotten significantly worse and they lost one of their best bats. There aren’t many great things to say about this team in its current state. Let’s try to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find some bright spots for this team.
Sock’s 2 X-Factors
1. Adam Frazier
Adam Frazier is sneakily one of the better players on the Pirates right now. He had a rough 2020 campaign. He is a steady .270s hitter and has few home runs up his sleeve. One of the better parts of his game comes on the defensive side of the ball. Frazier’s FRAA(Fielding Runs Above Average) is 9. FRAA is the number of runs above or below average a player is a worth based on the number of plays made. In simple terms, it’s the number of outs a defender completes. This website gives a more in-depth analysis of what FRAA is, only about a one-minute read. For example, an average FRAA is around 1, a great FRAA is around 5.5 and an excellent FRAA is around 11.5. Frazier’s FRAA of 9 was no flook, in 2018 he had an FRAA of 5 and an FRAA of 7 in 2019. He has improved as a defender each year he has been in the league. He isn’t a superstar by any means but I still think he is capable of having a good season. Projected 2021 stats, .277 18HR 70 RBIs.
2. Ke’Byran Hayes
Hayes was fantastic in 2020 batting .365 with 5 home runs in 24 games played as a rookie. This obviously a small sample size but, this should not come as a big surprise. Hayes was the number 15 overall prospect heading into the 2020 season. The potential for him is through the roof considering his glove was supposed to be the main part of his game. His FRAA in 2020 was 3 which is good for a rookie. An elite glove in the minors with a hot start hitting? Looks good to me. My projection is low to start but as he gains more experience, expect bigger numbers. Projected 2021 stats, .271 15 HR 63RBIs
Prospects to look forward to
1. Nick Gonzales
Gonzales has yet to play in the minors but when he does it will be entertaining. He hit .399 with 37 home runs in his college career. Nasty. His defense is average but that can be improved on when you are as athletic as he is. He probably won’t be able ready for another 2 to 3 years but when he is ready, expect big results.
2. Oneil Cruz
A 6 foot 7 shortstop with good power and a huge arm, sounds good to me. His defense is yet to become great but at only 21 years old, he has time. Hitting .274 with 32 home runs in 4 minor league seasons is very solid for a 21-year-old. He may get called up this year eventually but my guess would be he starts Opening Day in 2022.
Between Cruz, Gonzales and Hayes, the Pirates could have a very good infield in about 4 or 5 years.
My prediction for the Pirates is that they finish last in the NL central with a 55-107 record, but I will be excited for the future as I think they can be playoff contenders by the year 2024.
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