This morning ESPN.com's Keith Law was the latest to post his 2016 Top 100 Prospects list. (Insider) Law was a big fan of Pirates 2015 first-round pick Kevin Newman going into the draft, ranking him as his #2 overall prospect. Law is often a lone wolf, a role he clearly relishes, as no one else in the industry rated Newman nearly that high. Newman "slid" to the Pirates at 19. True to form Law ranked Newman #23 on this year's list, his first year eligible. "A no-doubt shortstop with the agility, arm and hands to stay at the position." Law's Top 100 is the only one I've seen that has Newman listed at all. It's worth noting that Law's list is heavy on position players playing up the middle and a full 20 of the 100 are currently shortstops.
Other Pirates on Law's list include Tyler Glasnow #6 (20th in 2014 & 13th in 2015) "his long-term upside is rare," Austin Meadows #16 (35 in 2014 and 32nd in 2015) "if he does hit for the power that he's physically capable of producing he'll be a star," and Josh Bell #56 (90th in 2014 & 60th in 21015) "a natural hitter with superlative hand-eye coordination and a disciplined approach." The most-notable omissions are pitcher Jameson Taillon (27th in 2014 & 36th in 2015) who has missed the past two seasons due to injury and infielder Alen Hanson (74th in 2014 & 89th in 2015).
Baseball Prospectus recently posted its Top 100 list which includes six Pirates: Glasnow #11, Meadows #22, Bell #49, Taillon #51, catcher Reese McGuire #76 and outfielder Harold Ramirez #80.
MLB.com's list included five Pirates: Glasnow #10, Meadows #20, Bell #49, Taillon #54, and McGuire #98.
Earlier this week I had Jim Callis, one of the authors of MLB.com's list as a guest on my show. Among other things we discussed the outlook for Taillon, Meadows' ceiling vs. that of Starling Marte (he thinks Meadows' ceiling is higher), and whether Elias Diaz can be an everyday catcher in the majors. You can hear the entire conversation here. Check it out.
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