Baseball America posted their list of the top 20 prospects in the Florida State League on Wednesday afternoon. The Bradenton Marauders and Pittsburgh Pirates are represented on that list by shortstop Oneil Cruz.
Cruz ranks seventh on today’s list. He hit .301/.345/.515 with seven homers and seven steals in 35 games, getting just enough plate appearances to qualify for this list. He made the list due to his bat and huge power potential, but BA has some nice things to say about his defense as well. Cruz was our top prospect for the Bradenton Marauders this year.
BA really talks up the strength of the FSL this year in the preview of their top 20. While it seems a bit surprising that the Pirates didn’t do better here, with both Cody Bolton and Travis Swaggerty missing the list, that speaks more to the depth of this list, rather than them being down on either player. Both rated well in their mid-season update for the Pirates top ten prospects list.
If you missed the International League list, the Pirates had three players in the top 20. Not surprisingly, Altoona didn’t have anyone on the Eastern League list.