Comments on: Pirates Have Five in Keith Law’s Top 100 Prospects

By: Tim Williams

Tim Williams — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 01:12:30 +0000

Marte doesn’t have prospect eligibility any more. Most places have limits around 130 ABs, 50 IP, or 30 relief appearances. Some have restrictions based on service time. Marte has more than 130 ABs, so he’s no longer considered a prospect.

By: emjayinTN

emjayinTN — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 01:00:21 +0000

Tim: Why would Marte no longer be seen as a prospect? Josh Bell is a tremendous talent and if he comes to ST and does well, I would keep him with the guys in the fast lane like Alen Hanson, Gregory Polanco, Jose Osuna, Nick Kingham, and Zack Von Rosenberg who are all set to play Hi A at Bradenton. No moves, great weather, and a place where he can be closely monitored. He did struggle in his first exposure to pro baseball, but still managed to hit .274 – he has things to learn, but that’s a far cry from being overwhelmed.

By: Ian Rothermund

Ian Rothermund — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 04:03:38 +0000

That makes sense. Hadn’t he seemed to make some strides in the week or so before he got hurt? I know he only played for about 3 or 4 weeks, I just seem to remember 2 or so really poor weeks where it was really cold and he wasn’t ready for change ups, then the last week was closer to what they had hoped for.

By: hunter

hunter — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:58:09 +0000

I should clarify… he wants to make sure Bell was over-matched in the short term simply because the competition was better. Or in other words he didn’t have enough time to adjust before getting hurt. Not that he can’t or won’t adjust.

By: hunter

hunter — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:55:10 +0000

Law had a Q&A where he basically said as long as Bell shows he is healthy was over-matched just because of the jump in competition then he should easily jump back in the top 100.

That plus two top 14 draft picks and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Herrera jump up I think they should have at least five again. Figure Cole is promoted, a couple jump in and one probably flops or gets hurt.

By: Ian Rothermund

Ian Rothermund — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:24:50 +0000

Yeah, it would be really nice to see Bell have a solid year and really show everyone that he was worth the money. I think it could be a very exciting year on the prospect front. The nice part is that there seems to be a floor on it as well, and it’s not just one or two guys and then praying for others to come out of nowhere.

By: leadoff

leadoff — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 19:12:57 +0000

Bell is a good example of how the Pirates can go beyond the 5 Law mentions, far beyond that for major league talent. Would have easily had 6 if they sign Appel. Sanchez is still a major league talent IMO, Barnes, Mathison and Clay Holmes are rising talents in the system. They could have the best outfield in baseball by 2014 if Polanco continues the path he is on, with him in the outfield, the least talented player could be McCutchen.

By: tempman89

tempman89 — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:59:38 +0000

Cole most likely will be in the rotation by years end.
Between the new draft, josh bell coming back and the new draft, I expect 5+ next as well

By: hunter

hunter — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:23:58 +0000

Reading Law’s reviews I was surprised with just how positive they all were.

By: C Shint

C Shint — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:13:21 +0000

Don’t forget that we have 2 first round picks as well. One would hope that they are considered top talents. But yes I would agree the Pirates should be in a close to similar position again next year