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David Todd Podcast: Breaking Down the Pirates Depth and Top 50 Prospects

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I had my weekly radio segment with David Todd on 970 ESPN yesterday, discussing all of the latest news in the Pirates’ minor league system, including some of the depth options who can help the team this year. The podcast can be heard below. Here is a summary of what we discussed.

**David thinks the Pirates are better off playing Pedro Florimon at shortstop and putting Jung-ho Kang at third base with the current roster construction. I agree with him for all of the reasons stated: Florimon has excellent defense, he doesn’t hit but neither does Sean Rodriguez, and Kang is better at third.

**I talked about Radhames Liz and his success in the rotation in Triple-A. This doesn’t really help the Pirates, because Liz hasn’t had success in the bullpen, and that’s his best role for the team.

**Speaking of pitching depth, I discussed where John Holdzkom and Casey Sadler are with their rehab. An update on Holdzkom: he joined Morgantown today for rehab.

**The Pirates will probably go with Vance Worley if they need an additional starter. But if they need two, their depth is questionable. I think Adrian Sampson is the best option, but he needs to improve on his recent consistency issues before the Pirates can turn to him.

**We discussed our recent top 50, and I highlighted a few players, including Harold Ramirez, who is probably going to get higher grades with us than most, since I’ve loved what I’ve seen from him in Bradenton this year.

**We also discussed the promotion of Barrett Barnes, and how his power has been held back in Bradenton this year.

**Finally, we discussed some of the prospects just outside of the top 50, and how the Pirates have guys who could reach the majors as bench and bullpen guys, despite not being one of the best 50 prospects in the system.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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