Around this time of year we see a lot of prospect lists come out, and almost all of them focus on a player’s potential impact in the future, rather than the upcoming season. Keith Law takes a different approach each year, providing a list of the top 20 impact prospects for the 2013 season. The list is a ranking of players based only on their expected impact in the majors in 2013.
Law released his list yesterday, and Gerrit Cole was one of the 20 players. Many expect Cole to arrive in Pittsburgh this season, and Law had him sixth overall in the rankings. He notes that Cole could provide an impact for the Pirates in the second half.
Surrounding Cole were fellow 2011 top draft picks Trevor Bauer (5) and Dylan Bundy (7).
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
Great list by Law. I was surprised to see Julio Tehran as high as he was (I believe he was third). Although he will be in the big leagues again at some point, perhaps immediately, he seemed to have a lot to work on. THe potential is there, though.
On another note, The prospects of a 2nd half rotation potentially including Burnett, Rodriguez, McDonald, and Morton/Cole/Liriano to fill the last 2, is nothing short of exciting.