Pirates Get Four Selected to MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects List

Last night, MLB Pipeline revealed their top 100 prospects list and the Pittsburgh Pirates had four on the list. The team made history with their highest-ranked position player in team history as the system takes a step forward.

Every year, MLB Pipeline releases their new list of the top 100 prospects in baseball to show who the next generation of stars might be. Over the last couple of seasons, the Pittsburgh Pirates have not had many players on this list because of a depleted farm system. However, Ben Cherrington has committed to building up the Minor Leagues and made the Pirates farm system the third most improved across Major League Baseball, and that was before the Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon trades. The rewards of those efforts were starting to show last night as the Pirates landed four prospects on the MLB Top 100 prospects list. Overall, one pitcher and three position players made the cut, showing the rest of the league the future of this Pirates team.

The nominees were IF Ke'Bryan Hayes (#9), IF Nick Gonzales (#43), RHP Quinn Priester (#52), and IF Oneil Cruz (#64). Three of the four nominees were from the previous regime, but Cherington made his first mark on the list with the addition of Gonzales. All four players look to be part of the next Pirates winning team, and all four are expected to start the year at or above the Double-A level. The team also made some history with this season's announcement, as Hayes is the highest-ranked position player in the organization's history. Today, we look at these future Pirates stars and how they play into the rebuilding process that the Pirates are currently going through to bring a winning team back to Pittsburgh.

#9 Ke'Bryan Hayes

Last season, Pirates fans got a chance to take a look into the future when Ke'Bryan Hayes was called up to the Big Leagues for a September 1st game against the Chicago Cubs. The rookie took advantage of his opportunities, hitting .376 with five home runs and 11 RBI over 24 games, and all but staking his claim to the starting third baseman job in the future. He ranked #9 on MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects list and becomes the highest-ranking Pirates position player of all time. He is already a big favorite to win the 2021 Rookie of the Year award, and fans will get a glimpse of what he can do over the course of an entire Big League season. For as good as Hayes was last season, the more impressive feat was how good he was in clutch situations.

When Hayes stepped up with runners in scoring position last season, he thrived hitting .364 with five of his 11 RBI in 11 at-bats. Most rookies seem to crumble under the pressure, but Hayes thrives off of it, coming up with big hits when his team needs it. He had a total of 14 extra-base hits, accounting for nearly half of his total of 32 hits. Hayes will be on many people's radars this season, not only on the Pirates but around the league. His defense is already stellar, with two Minor League Gold Glove Awards under his belt, and his offense is just an added bonus. Time will tell how Hayes will do over a full season, but it will be exciting to watch the 24-year-old go from prospect to star.

#43 Nick Gonzales

Nick Gonzales's journey from high school baseball to professional baseball is one of the great underdog stories in all of sports. He wasn't seen as good enough out of high school, so he walked on at New Mexico state and instantly became a star. He hit .432 during his sophomore year, but people still questioned his talent because of the quality of the competition that he was facing. So, he went out and proved everybody wrong in the Cape Cod League. He competed against some of the top collegiate talents across the country and won the league MVP hitting .351 with seven home runs and 33 RBI. When he returned to New Mexico State for his shortened senior season he led the nation in batting average (.448), home runs (12), and RBI (48).

He was deemed the best pure hitter in the 2020 MLB Draft and Cherington said that he was looking for the best available talent when their pick came at #7. When Gonzales was still available, Cherington pounced and got his guy. He joins a growing list of Pirates middle infield prospects, but before he even plays a professional game he ranks above them all. Gonzales worked at the Pirates Alternate Training Site last season and has already made the move from shortstop to second base. He will more than likely start the season at Double-A Altoona after working with those coaches last season as he begins his climb to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

#52 Quinn Priester

After Mitch Keller's rookie status ran out last season, RHP Quinn Priester became the Pittsburgh Pirate's highest ranked pitching prospect. He was the Pirate's first-round pick in 2019 and was the last first-round choice by former General Manager Neil Huntington. During his first year of pro baseball, he impressed beginning the year in Rookie Ball and advancing to Short-Season West Virginia by season's end. He blew away the Gulf Coast League going 1-1 with a 3.03 ERA over eight games, seven starts with the GCL Pirates. His strikeout rate was one of his most impressive factors, as he set down 37 batters in 32.2 innings of work while walking just 10 batters. Opponents hit just .238 against Priester and he earned a promotion to Short-Season West Virginia to end the season.

Priester made one start for the West Virginia Black Bears, his final start of the season, and had an ok outing to start his career. He lasted four innings and gave up three runs, two earned, on three hits while walking four and striking out four. His control that had been an asset in rookie ball just wasn't there as he could not consistently find the strike zone. However, he continued to miss bats, with an opponent batting average of just .214 in that game. With the Minor League season being canceled last season, Priester ended up working at the Pirates alternate training site in Altoona. With a fastball that can consistently be in the mid-90s, Priester projects to be an ace of the Pirates staff one day. He is likely to start the year in Altoona, and if he can get his control back, is on the fast track to rising up the rankings and becoming a star.

#64 Oneil Cruz

Of the three prospects on this list who have not yet made their MLB debut, Oneil Cruz is the next most likely to get to that level in 2021. After being cleared of all wrongdoing in a crash in the Dominican Republic that resulted in a death, Cruz is looking to get back to baseball. In 2019, he spent most of his time in Double-A Altoona and ended up hitting .269 with a home run and 17 RBI in 35 games. He worked at the Pirates alternate training site last season and, much to the chagrin of Pirates fans, did not get the call to the Big Leagues in September. His offense has been a big part of his game throughout his career, with his defense lagging behind at shortstop. He had a fielding percentage of just .951 at shortstop in 2019 and was looking to improve that side of his game.

So, he headed down to the Dominican Winter League to make up for lost time and became a member of the Gigantes del Cibao. He helped lead the Gigantes to the Dominican Winter League playoffs hitting .245 with an RBI in 14 games played. It came after a slow start to the season, which saw his batting average down around the .100 mark. Cruz is not likely to start the year with the Big League club, as he has yet to see any time playing in Triple-A Indianapolis. However, if everything goes well with the Indians, we could see Cruz somewhere around the halfway point of the season. With four prospects on the MLB Top prospect list, the future is looking bright for Pittsburgh, now it is up to development to take those players to the next level.