Six Pirates have cracked Baseball America’s updated top 100 prospects, tied with the Diamondbacks for the most prospects on the list.
Shortstop Oneil Cruz leads the way at No. 14, followed by catcher Henry Davis at 41, second baseman Nick Gonzales at 49, shortstop Liover Peguero at 78 and right-handers Roansy Contreras and Quinn Priester at 80 and 88.
The last time the Pirates had at least six prospects on the list was in 2014, when they had seven to lead the league.
Cruz saw his stock rise dramatically towards the end of last season, going from the middle of the list to No. 19 in the final weeks before making another jump in this most recent update. The 23-year-old slugger made his major-league debut at the end of last season and homered in his final at-bat.
Davis, 22, was taken first overall in last year’s amateur draft. He was ranked as Baseball America’s fourth-best draft prospect, and the three players ahead of him (Marcelo Mayer, Jack Leiter and Jordan Lawlar) are still in front of him on the top 100, part of the appeal of Davis was that he signed under slot value, allowing the Pirates to spread money around and pick up more high-end talent in later rounds. He is expected to start next season with Class High-A Greensboro.
Gonzales, 22, made his full-season debut last season and slashed .302/.385/.565 with 18 home runs in 80 games for Greensboro
His double-play partner, Peguero, slashed .270/.332/.444 with 14 home runs for Greensboro too. The 21-year-old was acquired in January 2020 in the Starling Marte trade.
Both Gonzales and Peguero are projected to start next season in Class AA Altoona. Peguero was added to the 40-man roster this offseason.
Contreras, 22, was acquired last winter in the Jameson Taillon trade. He tore up Altoona, striking out 76 over 54 ⅓ innings with a 2.65 ERA. He made his major-league debut in the final weekend of the season, tossing three scoreless innings.
Priester, 21, entered last year as a breakout candidate and someone who could potentially jump towards the top of the prospect list, and while he did win the pitcher of the year honors for the High-A East league, his season did not quite live up to the hype. The 2019 first-round draft pick did show an improved changeup, increased fastball velocity and a new slider, so one would be hard-pressed to call it a disappointing season. Still, he dropped from No. 58 on last year’s preseason list to No. 88. He is expected to start next year in Altoona.
Baseball America had previously released their top 10 Pirates prospects. Catcher Endy Rodriguez is the No. 7 in the system, followed by right-handers Michael Burrows, Jared Jones and Carmen Mlodzinski for the final three spots.
The full list can be found here.
