As you may have already seen, Baseball America has been unveiling a Top 20 prospects list for each of the minor leagues in recent weeks. After revealing the International League today, they have covered each of the leagues that include Pirates affiliates. Let’s see how the Bucs fared overall.
International League (AAA)
8. Pedro Alvarez, 3B
15. Brad Lincoln, RHP
16. Jose Tabata, OF
Eastern League (AA)
14. Bryan Morris, RHP
15. Rudy Owens, LHP
Florida State League (A+)
6. Tony Sanchez, C
16. Diego Moreno, RHP
South Atlantic League (A)
None
New York-Penn League (A-)
6. Zack Von Rosenberg, RHP
10. Colton Cain, LHP
17. Zack Dodson, LHP
Gulf Coast League (Rookie)
None
The only glaring mistake, in my opinion, is the omission of Starling Marte in favor of Diego Moreno in the Florida State League. Marte is considered by most to be one of the top prospects in the Pirates system, probably among the top five in most cases. Moreno, while he was very dominant this season, is a 24-year-old reliever who has little experience above High-A. It seems pretty clear to me that Marte is the better prospect right now.
It is also pretty surprising that Jeff Locke did not make an appearance on either of the Florida State League or Eastern League lists. He was excellent at both levels this year.
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