BRADENTON, Fla. – Every year I travel to see all of the teams and players in the Pirates’ minor league system. There are some levels I try to see twice during the season, especially if there is a breakout prospect or a top prospect at the level. I will be seeing every team again this year, but one team has me altering my travel schedule in a big way: The Bradenton Marauders.
We have writers who cover all of the full season teams on the site. Brian Peloza is our Indianapolis writer. Sean McCool covers Altoona. Abigail Miskowiec has the West Virginia coverage. As for Bradenton, that is my territory, so seeing the Marauders in any year won’t be a big issue. I generally book my travel, and then catch them whenever I’m home, not making it a huge priority to adjust my travel schedule to see other teams based on their schedule.
That said, this year’s team looks like it will be loaded — at least for the first half — and that roster has me altering my schedule so I can see as many games as possible. My usual first half West Virginia trip is out, and I will only be making one trip when I see Morgantown and Bristol in August. Part of that is because West Virginia doesn’t project to have a good team this year, although that’s my favorite place to visit, so I normally don’t need much of a reason to go there. My Altoona trip at the start of the year has also been pushed back to the second half, and that’s entirely due to Bradenton.
The Bradenton roster doesn’t have the prospect depth that Indianapolis will have, where 23 of our top 50 prospects are on the team. The Marauders do have a lot of prospects, and more importantly, they’re top-heavy, with the potential for six of our top ten prospects.
The group is led by a strong pitching staff, and that staff is led by Mitch Keller. We have him as the top pitching prospect in the system, and you can read a lot more about him here, along with a live report from today’s action at Pirate City. He is joined by Taylor Hearn and Gage Hinsz. Hearn is a hard-throwing lefty who was acquired in the Mark Melancon trade last year and can touch triple digits. Hinsz is similar to Keller, but has been a step behind him at each level. If he continues progressing and can take that next step, the Pirates could have two of the game’s top young pitching prospects together as those two move up.
The pitching staff has some interesting depth too. Pedro Vasquez and Jake Brentz, the two wild card pitchers acquired in the Arquimedes Caminero trade last year, project to be on the team. Also joining the group are James Marvel, who you can read about here, and recent West Virginia starters Bret Helton, Logan Sendelbach, and Dario Agrazal.
The Marauders will be more than just a strong pitching staff. The other strength comes from their potential infield. Will Craig (2016 first round pick) and Cole Tucker (2014 first round pick) are starting the season at the level. Mitchell Tolman, a seventh round pick in 2015 and one of our top 50 prospects, will be joining them at second base. Ke’Bryan Hayes, taken in the compensation portion of the first round in 2015, also could end up starting off at the level, and will definitely be there at some point this year. Then there’s Christian Kelley behind the plate, a 2015 11th round pick who has strong defense and has risen up the Pirates’ depth chart in the last year. Kelley is currently in MLB camp, but projects to start the year in Bradenton.
The outfield has a few interesting guys, although not the same talent as the infield. Logan Hill has a big frame and power potential. He didn’t do well in his push to Bradenton last year, but hit well after an adjustment in West Virginia. He’ll get a chance to show if he’s a prospect in his return this year. Casey Hughston was an over-slot signing as a third rounder in 2015, but has some extreme strike zone issues with balls on the outer half of the plate. He’s a very toolsy player and could be a nice prospect if he figured that big issue out. However, it seems unlikely he will improve in this area as he moves up. Kevin Krause, Jordan George, and Ryan Nagle are also wild card prospects the Pirates have prioritized for playing time in the past.
Most nights this squad will feature a top ten pitching prospect from the system, along with three of the top ten position players in the system, and two other top 50 prospects (Tolman and Kelley). That’s going to be a loaded and exciting team to watch. As for that second half Altoona trip, the reason I’m pushing it back is because I expect several of these guys to be up in the second half, at which point there might be an “Altoona is loaded” article, and at which point I will be making it a priority to go see that team.
