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Pirates Place Three Among South Atlantic League’s Top 20 Prospects

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Baseball America released their list of the top 20 prospects in the South Atlantic League on Friday morning. After having just one player listed among the top prospects for the first three prospect lists combined, the Pittsburgh Pirates placed three players on the SAL list.

Mitch Keller trailed only outfielder Victor Robles of the Nationals on the SAL list, finishing second while being named the top pitcher in the league. The 20-year-old righty had an incredible season that ended with him making two playoff starts for Bradenton, helping them to the Florida State League title. While with West Virginia, Keller led the league with an 0.92 WHIP, while posting a 2.46 ERA in 124.1 innings, with 131 strikeouts, a .211 BAA and only 18 walks. By the end of his time in West Virginia, he was touching 99 MPH, with plus command, a plus curveball and a solid changeup.

Ke’Bryan Hayes is ranked 14th in the league, despite missing a good portion of the season due to a back injury. His numbers dipped a little bit as he tried to play through back soreness, but the 19-year-old third baseman posted a .711 OPS and played strong defense at third base. During his rehab assignment in the GCL, he was shutdown due to a cracked rib, so it was a tough end to his season, but as one of the youngest players in the SAL, Hayes still showed an advanced approach at the plate and solid play in the field. He likely would have ranked higher if he was able to stay healthy and on the field.

Gage Hinsz ranked 17th in the league. His report in the BA article makes you wonder that if they had all of the information on him, if he would be ranked a little higher. They have Hinsz sitting 91-94, but at times he was a tick higher, sitting 92-95 and hitting 96 MPH. They also say that he was held back in Extended Spring Training due to control issues. Hinsz was actually injured in a minor car accident at the end of spring, suffering a concussion. That shut him down for a short time, and then he needed to build his pitch limit back up before joining West Virginia.

Until Mitch Keller added velocity at the end of the season, there wasn’t a big difference between his stuff and what we saw from Hinsz, with Keller being just a little bit better looking in all aspects. Keller was hitting 97 MPH when Hinsz was hitting 96, and both were doing a good job of throwing on a downhill plane while filling the strike zone. Hinsz was also flashing a plus curve and a usable changeup, just not as consistently as Keller. Perhaps his best area was the fact that Hinsz went at least five innings in 16 of his 17 starts. He got knocked out of one game after 3.2 innings, then five days later came back with seven shutout innings against the same team.

No real surprises on this SAL list with the players ranked and their spots, or with any possible play left off. If he was able to put in a few more innings, Taylor Hearn may have made the list. He was playing in the SAL when the Pirates acquired him, but he fell short of the innings minimum with 45.1 between Hagerstown and West Virginia.

UPDATE: During the chat, JJ Cooper mentioned that Hearn was eligible for the list. Their restrictions say one inning for every three games (which would be 46.2 IP) but Cooper said it was 45 innings. He said he left Hearn off due to concerns about his off-speed stuff. There is a misconception out there about Hearn, with people saying his changeup is below average. According to Hearn, is changeup is his best pitch, better than his fastball that hits 99 MPH. He doesn’t throw his changeup now because he’s working on his slider, but it is inaccurate to say the pitch needs work. It’s actually the exact opposite. It’s good enough that he doesn’t have to throw it, so he can concentrate on fastball command and improving his slider.

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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