Baseball Prospectus reveals Top 11 Pirates Prospects

PITTSBURGH — Baseball Prospectus revealed the Pittsburgh Pirates Top 11 prospects for the 2012 season. Those players include:

Five-Star Prospects:

1) Gerrit Cole, RHP

2) Jameson Taillon, RHP

3) Luis Heredia, RHP

4) Josh Bell, OF

Four-Star Prospects:

5) Starling Marte, OF

6) Robbie Grossman, OF

Three-Star Prospects:

7)Stetson Allie, RHP

8) Kyle McPherson, RHP

9)Colton Cain, LHP

Two-Star Prospects:

10)Tony Sanchez, C

11) Bryan Morris, RHP

Nine more:

12) Jeff Locke, LHP

13) Clay Holmes, RHP

14) Nick Kingham, RHP

15) Rudy Owens, LHP

16) Zack Von Rosenberg, RHP

17) Alen Hanson, 2B

18) Justin Wilson, LHP

19) Gorkys Hernandez, OF

20) Gustavo Nunez, SS

Cole, 21, was drafted by Pittsburgh in the first round (first overall) of the 2011 draft. The UCLA alum made his professional debut in the Arizona Fall League. He posted a 2-0 record with a  3.00 ERA over five starts. Cole allowed five earned runs on 10 hits over 15.0 innings with four walks and 16 strikeouts with the Mesa Solar Sox.

Taillon, 20, went 2-3 with a 3.98 ERA in 23 starts (92.2 innings) for the Low-A West Virginia Power during the 2011 season. Taillon was the Pirates first round pick (2^nd overall) in the 2010 draft. Taillon also pitched in the Fall Instructional League (You can read more here).

Heredia, 17, was signed in 2010 as an international free-agent. Heredia posted a 1-2 record with a  4.75 ERA over 12 games (11 starts) in the Gulf Coast League. Heredia walked 19 and struck out 23.

Bell, 19, was the Pirates second round pick in the 2011 draft. Bell played in the Fall Instructional League in Bradenton, Fla. (You can read more here). Bell hit .548 with 13 home runs, 54 RBI, 54 runs scored with a 1.054 slugging percentage as a senior for Dallas Jesuit (TX) High School. He struck out just five times in his 139 plate appearances.

Marte, 23, was named the Eastern League Rookie of the year, won the Eastern League batting title, and was the Altoona Curve’s most valuable player in 2011. Marte also set an single-season Altoona Curve franchise record with 178 hits. He finished with a .332 average, a career-high 12 home runs, 50 RBI and scored 91 runs with Double-A Altoona. Marte was added to the Bucs 40-man roster this offseason.

Grossman, 21, was named the Pirates Minor League Player-of-the-Year after having a solid year with High-A Bradenton. In 134 games, Grossman drew 104 walks and scored 127 runs, becoming the first minor leaguer since Nick Swisher in 2004 to score at least 100 runs and walk 100 times in the same season. Grossman played in the AFL, but his season ended short after requiring hamate bone surgery. Despite missing the final week, Grossman ranked ninth in runs (20), third in hits (39), second in home runs (7), sixth in RBI (22), first in walks (20), sixth in stolen bases (6), fourth in average (.375), third in on base (.472) and fourth in OPS (1.097).

Allie, 20, was the Pirates second round pick in the 2010 draft. He finished with a  6.58 ERA over 15 games with the State College Spikes in 2011. Allie finished with a strong month of August where he posted a 3.38 ERA over six games.

McPherson, 23, was named the Pirates minor league Pitcher-of-the-year in 2011 (You can read more here). He was also named the Altoona Curve’s pitcher-of-the-year. McPherson went 12-6 with a 2.96 ERA with 142 strikeouts in 28 starts between High-A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona. He finished with an organizational leading 142 strikeouts.

Cain, 20, posted a 6-8 record and a 3.64 ERA over 24 games (19 starts) with West-Virginia Power in the 2011 season. Cain walked 31 and struck out 81 batters over 106.1 innings. The left-hander was drafted in the 9^th round of the 2009 draft by Pittsburgh.

Sanchez, 23, saw his offensive numbers take a dip in the 2011 season, but his defense behind the plate and game calling took a step forward. Sanchez finished the 2010 season with High-A Bradenton batting .314. However, Sanchez underwent season-ending jaw surgery after getting hit in the face by a pitch. He was on a liquid diet while his jaw was wired shut and had trouble gaining back the weight he lost this year. Sanchez batted .241 in Double-A this season.

Morris, 24, started the season in the rotation for the Double-A Altoona Curve, but was moved into the bullpen after posting a 6.04 ERA over six starts. But once moved into the ‘pen, Morris was very solid. Over 29 appearances, Morris had a 2.05 ERA with 47 strikeouts over 52.2 innings. Morris was drafted in the 1^st round of the 2006 draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Locke, 24, made 23 starts in Double-A and five starts in Triple-A before getting a September callup. Locke posted a 3.70 ERA in the minors in 2011. Locke made his major league debut on September 28^th and went 0-3 with a 6.48 ERA overall in five big league starts.

Holmes, 18, was drafted in the 9^th round by  Pittsburgh in the 2011 draft out of high school, receiving a $1.2 M bonus. Holmes was signed close to the deadline and did not pitch in the organization this season. During his senior year of high school, Holmes went 8-1 over 11 starts with a 1.78 ERA. He averaged 13.2 strikeouts per nine innings and held opponents to a .168 batting average.

Kingham, 20, went 6-2 with a 2.15 ERA over 15 starts with the State College Spikes in 2011. He walked 15 and struck out 47 over 71.0 innings. Kingham was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 4^th round of the 2010 draft.

Owens, 23, posted a 9-7 with a 5.05 ERA in 21 starts (112.1 innings) with Triple-A Indianapolis in 2011, a down year for the lefty. He’s coming off a solid campaign with Double-A Altoona in 2010 where he posted a 12-6 record with a 2.46 ERA. Owens finished the season early after being placed on the disabled list on August 5^th with arm fatigue. Owens participated in the Fall Instructional League in Bradenton where he got his arm back in shape. Owens was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 28^th round of the 2006 draft. Owens was added to the Bucs 40-man roster this offseason after being Rule-5 eligible.

Von Rosenberg, 21, went 5-9 with a 5.73 ERA over 27 games (25 starts) with the State College Spikes in the 2011 season. Over 125.2 innings, Von Rosenberg struck out 114 while walking just 23. He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 6^th round of the 2009 draft.

Hanson, 19, batted .260 with 43 runs, 13 doubles, seven triples, two homers, 34 RBI and 24 stolen bases over 55 games combined with the Gulf Coast League and State College in 2011. Hanson signed as an international free agent in 2009.

Wilson, 24, went 10-8 with a 4.13 ERA over 30 games (21 starts) with Triple-A Indy in 2011. Wilson had a down year after posting a 3.09 ERA in 2010 with Double-A Altoona and finished the season in the bullpen with Indy where he saw his fastball reach 98 and 99 mph. Wilson was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 5^th round of the 2008 draft and was added to the 40-man roster this offseason.

Gorkys, 24, hit .284 average with 49 runs, 25 doubles, nine triples, one home run, 40 RBI and 21 stolen bases over 126 games with Triple-A Indy this season. Gorkys was acquired by Atlanta in 2009 and was drafted as an international free agent in 2005.

Nunez, 23, was selected by Pittsburgh in the first round of the Rule-5 draft in December from the Detroit Tigers. Nunez batted .276 with 59 runs, 13 doubles, seven triples, five home runs, 26 RBI and 18 stolen bases combined with High-A and Double-A in 2011. Nunez signed as an international free agent in 2007.

Photo credit: MiLB