Over at Baseball Prospectus today, Kevin Goldstein’s got his top 101 prospects listed. I could be wrong, but I think this is the first list to put six Pirates in the top 100. Goldstein’s Buccos in the top 101 are:
9. Gerrit Cole
13. Jameson Taillon
42. Luis Heredia
43. Josh Bell
56. Starling Marte
76. Robbie Grossman
I have a few thoughts. The first is that, if you remember, Goldstein talked quite a bit about how top-heavy the Pirates’ system is on his podcast about six weeks ago, but it’s obvious that part of the reason that he thinks it’s top heavy is that he really likes the Pirates’ top five prospects. I’m also happy to see Jameson Taillon stay high on people’s lists because it means that they’re interpreting his first-year results (that he had a strong year, even if his ERA was a bit high and he didn’t quite dominate) pretty much the same way that I am. And it’s nice to see Robbie Grossman get some love. I think he turned quite a few heads in the AFL this year. I hope he’s healthy for the season to start.
And finally, it’s nice to know that Luis Heredia is the answer to the question of life, the universe, and everything. I assume that Dan Fox and his crew are running simulations to determine the question as we speak. Once that’s done, the Pirates will be unstoppable.
