One of the early stages of preparation for the Prospect Guide is to figure out where each player in the Pirates’ system is expected to start off in the upcoming season. That’s always a challenge. It’s easy to just look at where a player was playing in 2017, and expect him to move up to the next level in 2018. But there are way too many moving parts for it to actually be that easy.
It all starts at the top, with moves made at the MLB level. From there, you can project the Indianapolis roster, including the players who can move up from Altoona. This allows you to project the Bradenton to Altoona moves, West Virginia to Bradenton, and so on.
That still makes it sound easy. Sometimes you have cases where a player is a fringe candidate to move up. There might be a spot for him in the higher level, and he might be blocking someone if he stays in the lower levels. Sometimes players move up and it creates a roster crunch at a specific position, leading to one player moving to the bench, or one player changing positions. And then any small individual move from the top can create a wave of moves throughout the system.
I’ve got the Pirates’ active roster projected on the 40-man payroll page. So to get an idea of where everyone else is projected, let’s start from the top down, looking first at the projected Opening Day roster for the Indianapolis Indians.
Position Players
C – Jin-De Jhang
1B – Jose Osuna
2B – Kevin Kramer
SS – Kevin Newman
3B – Eric Wood
OF – Chris Bostick
OF – Austin Meadows
OF – Todd Cunningham
DH – Barrett Barnes
Bench – Jacob Stallings, Wyatt Mathisen, Erich Weiss, Jerrick Suiter, Pablo Reyes
I’m assuming that Jose Osuna would end up in Triple-A, rather than making the big league roster. Other guys fighting it out for a big league spot include Max Moroff and Jordan Luplow, plus some of the other guys above. I assumed those two would be in the majors, although that could obviously change by the time the season starts.
As you can see, there is little room for addition in the infield. Top middle infield prospects Kevin Newman and Kevin Kramer are expected to make the jump to Triple-A. Kramer might be a candidate to stick back in Double-A, due to an injury that cost him time last year. However, that would create a problem at that level, with Mitchell Tolman, Cole Tucker, and Ke’Bryan Hayes all expected to move up to Altoona. There are other middle infield options behind those guys, so if Kramer doesn’t move up, he’s blocking a lot of people.
I projected one more bench player than normal here, just because I wasn’t sure what to do with Suiter or Reyes. I think Mathisen and Weiss will factor in around the infield, with Mathisen challenging Wood at third base. Reyes could be a utility player, and Suiter would be my guess at first base if Osuna was in the big leagues. Either one of Reyes or Suiter could start back in Altoona, especially if the Pirates sign a minor league free agent.
Most of the need for minor league free agents would be to provide depth. I’m not sure how much depth the Pirates will need, as they have Moroff and Adam Frazier projected to be on the bench in this scenario. Sean Rodriguez would also be projected on the roster. Most of their depth would be needed in the outfield, where they have already started making additions with the signing of Todd Cunningham as a minor league free agent. I’d guess that they will continue to focus on the outfield.
Pitchers
Rotation Candidates – Tyler Glasnow, Steven Brault, Clay Holmes, Nick Kingham, JT Brubaker, Brandon Waddell, Tyler Eppler, Alex McRae, Austin Coley, Tanner Anderson
Indianapolis has a lot of rotation candidates, with ten names here. Glasnow and Brault could end up in the majors, although that would take a good Spring Training or a move to the bullpen in each case. I think that could be more likely for Brault, while Glasnow seems more likely to return to Indianapolis.
I do know that the Pirates intend on using more than five starters in Indianapolis. That’s not necessarily a piggyback situation, but a way where they can skip a start and have a guy working out of the bullpen one week, just to give some relief experience to guys who have otherwise been starters their whole careers. They did this last year, giving guys a few relief appearances, and will look to continue that in 2018.
Most of these guys will need to move to relief, regardless of what happens. I’d have Eppler, McRae, Coley, and Anderson as the top options to make that move at the start of the season, although one or two of them could make the rotation mix if Glasnow and/or Brault make the majors.
I don’t see a need for the Pirates to add starting pitching depth. You could argue that there is a need for another top of the rotation option, which would lead to a trickle down effect. However, there’s clearly no need for depth, as the Pirates are well covered in this area, with four starters who could be candidates for the MLB rotation from day one.
Bullpen Candidates – Edgar Santana, Dovydas Neverauskas, Jack Leathersich, Sam Moll, Nik Turley, Yeudy Garcia, Casey Sadler, Montana DuRapau, Brett McKinney, Cody Dickson
When I started writing this article, it included Angel Sanchez and didn’t include Sam Moll. The Pirates claimed the lefty Moll off waivers, and released the right-handed Sanchez so that he could play in Korea. I can’t think of a better summary for the bullpen situation.
The Pirates have a lot of right-handed relief options in the upper levels. I have Santana and Neverauskas on the list above, although both could be options for the majors from Opening Day. Casey Sadler is returning, after showing a velocity increase last year. Yeudy Garcia is a candidate to move up, also seeing his velocity returning at the end of the year. Then there are all of the starters who could turn into relievers.
This is going to be a crowded situation. It’s possible some of the above guys, even guys like Anderson, McRae, and Coley, could end up back in Altoona. I’m already projecting a few relievers like Tate Scioneaux back in Altoona. If the Pirates add any more depth, it would further crowd the situation.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Pirates trading from their group of right-handed pitching prospects in the upper levels. They’re going to need to do something to clear some room, because right now they have too many pitchers and not enough spots.
On the flip side, the Pirates need left-handers. They’ve been claiming guys like Sam Moll, Jack Leathersich, and Nik Turley. I’d expect them to continue being active, adding options to help build up some depth. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Brault makes the move to relief, since he would provide more value to the current team as a lefty reliever versus another depth starter. So while the right-handed group is crowded, the left-handed group is thin, with some MLB spots up for grabs, and room for depth in the minors.
