Baseball America released two lists today for young talent around baseball. First up was their rankings of top talent among players 25 years old or younger and the Pittsburgh Pirates were ranked 11th overall. Earlier in the month, Baseball Prospectus released a similar list and the Pirates ranked fourth, but their standard for ranking the players was different than Baseball America. BP rated the overall talent among players 25 and under, while BA favored teams that had more talent already in the majors.
Baseball America also released a list of the top individual players that are 25 and under. The top Pirates player on that list was Gerrit Cole in the 15th spot. Also on the list were Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte, coming in at #32 and #33 respectively. Jameson Taillon did not make the top 50 list.
The Pirates ranked third among NL Central teams on the team list, with the Cardinals coming in third place and the Cubs listed in fifth place. There is a big difference from the top three teams and the other two clubs in the division. The Reds finished 27th and Brewers were 29th, beating out only the New York Yankees. The Atlanta Braves were first overall.