Pittsburgh Pirates New Year's Resolutions: Stock Up The Farm System
The Pittsburgh Pirates made the biggest move of their off-season so far, and many more are coming. With the Pirates rebuilding, some of the team's top players will be moved in hopes of building up the Pirate's depleted farm system. Prior to the 2020 season, the Pirates had the 15th best farm system in the Major Leagues, sitting right in the middle of the pack. While they had a few impact players at the top of the system, the rest were depth pieces that had big question marks surrounding them. When Ben Cherington was hired in November of 2019, his job was to rebuild this farm system and help make the Pirates relevant again like they were from 2011 to 2015.
Since taking the job, Cherington has done that adding five prospects to the Pirate's top 30-prospects list. Of those prospects, three of them were added in the trades involving Starling Marte and Josh Bell. In those trades, the Pirates received #5 prospect Liover Peguero, #7 Eddy Yean, and #8, Brennan Malone. The other two top prospects were added via the draft when the Pirates took #1 prospect Nick Gonzales and #9 prospect Carmen Mlodzinski. The rankings for 2021 have not yet come out, but the final Pittsburgh Pirates New Year's Resolution is going to be to rebuild the farm system. This will be Cherington's top priority right now and using some of his veteran trade pieces, and gaining good draft picks is the way to accomplish that.
Trading Big, Returning Success
One of the fastest ways to get your young talent to the Big Leagues is through trading their top prospects. The Pirates have several veterans who could help bring them a big return. Guys like Joe Musgrove, Adam Frazier, and Jameson Taillon could bring in a big return as contending teams try to add pieces to their roster that will help put them over the edge as they fight for a playoff spot. Because the free-agent market has been so slow, and players like Blake Snell and Yu Darvish already traded, Cherington and his staff have control of the market. They can ask top dollar for their players and teams will have to meet those demands or walk away if they want to add talent to their clubs.
The players that will bring the most value back for the Pirates are Joe Musgrove and Adam Frazier. Both had strong 2020 seasons and could step in and help a team fighting for a playoff spot. Musgrove really impressed after his injury pitching to a 2.16 ERA in the month of September. His last two starts were the best of the season as he didn't allow a run over his final 13 innings of work to end the year. Musgrove also brings with him World Series experience with the Houston Astros back in 2017. At just 28-years-old the team still has two years of control over him, giving him even more value. As for Frazier, he was nominated as a Gold Glove-winning second baseman for the second year in a row, and also showed he can still play the outfield at a high level.
However, the Pirates also have the power to not take a deal that they don't get the value they want from. Every one of the Pirate's tradable assets are controlled at least through the 2022 season. This means that the Pirates don't have to move them if they don't want to. This gives guys like Oneil Cruz a chance to finish developing down in the Minor Leagues, while guys like Frazier and Musgrove add to their value and help the 2021 Pirates. Cherington is working tirelessly for deals that fill the Pirate's needs and make room for Top Prospects who may be close to Major League players.
Draft, Draft, Draft
The other big part of building a winning organization is drafting right and putting more talent into the system. Lasts season, the Pirates brought in two of their top 10 prospects according to MLB Pipeline in Nick Gonzales and Carmen Mlodzinski. Both are big college-level talents and will more than likely start their professional careers with Advanced-A Greensboro. Cherington said his goal was to take the best player available, and when it came the Pirate's turn to pick, he added a middle infielder who was highly regarded as one of the best hitters in the entire draft.
This time, Cherington gets the first overall pick in the draft, allowing him to take the best player in the draft. All signs point to the Pirates taking Villanova Right-Handed Pitcher Kumar Rocker. Rocker is one of the top college pitchers and features a fastball in the upper nineties. However, it isn't the first pick the Pirates need to focus on, but every pick thereafter. The Pirate's number one goal for the Pirates is to bring in the best talent possible to help a depleted system grow into a winning organization. For this to happen, it takes time, and only time will tell whether or not Cherington and his staff will accomplish this New Year's Resolution. The question will be answered when these prospects finally step foot in PNC Park.
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