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Josh Bell Ranks Second Among First Base Prospects

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For the second year in a row, MLB Pipeline picked Josh Bell as one of the top first base prospects in the minors. Last year, Bell got the nod as the best prospect at his position despite the fact he had not played a regular season game at first base yet. This year, he finished second behind A.J. Reed of the Astros. Bell ended up hitting .307/.376/.427 in 96 games with Altoona in 2015, then moved up to Indianapolis and hit .347/.441/.504 in 35 games there. On top of that, he batted .444 in eight playoff games.

Bell’s timetable to the majors will depend on how much progress he shows in the field and from the right side of the plate. His defense was rough in 2015, but his off-season workouts this year revolved around getting more agile at the position and getting better at making throws, as the switch from an outfield to an infield last year was not seamless. He was also working on a leg kick at the plate last year, which should allow him to display more in-game power. You can view videos here of his defensive work and his time in the batting cages from Pirates mini-camp last week. You can compare videos in that link to see how much better he looks from the right side this winter.

Yesterday, both Elias Diaz and Reese McGuire ranked among the top six catchers in the minors. They followed Tyler Glasnow getting ranked second overall among right-handed pitchers.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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