PITTSBURGH -- July is the busiest month of the baseball schedule. Whether it’s the All-Star Game or the Draft or the Trade Deadline, there is always something going on.
For the Pirates, it was an important month for their prospect pool. Not only did they take a couple big swings in the Draft, but they made three trades that netted at least one player who is now on the Top 30 prospect list for the organization.
COMPLETE PIRATES PROSPECT COVERAGE
- Pirates Top 30 prospects
- Prospect stats: Today | Last 10 | Last 30
- Draft pick stats
- Highlights
MLB Pipeline released its midseason update Monday. So let’s take a look at where the Bucs’ top Minor League players rank:
Pirates’ top prospects
Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:
Jump: Edward Florentino, OF/1B (Preseason: No. 23 | Midseason: No. 5)
The Pirates knew Florentino had pop whenever he signed as an international free agent in January 2024. It’s translating stateside, too. Florentino was the Florida State League’s Player of the Month in July, his first full month in Single-A, and he has slugged .486 with 25 stolen bases in 42 games with the Marauders. He is on a trajectory to be a Top 100 prospect.
Fall: Tsung-Che Cheng, Infielder (Preseason: No. 17 | Midseason: Unranked)
Cheng got a cup of coffee in the Majors in April, going hitless in three games. He has continued to struggle at the dish since returning to the Minors, posting a slash line of .209/.309/.281. He has stolen 15 bases, but he’s also been caught eight times. There’s a foundation for him to be a speedy defensively versatile infielder, but he needs to hit if he wants a real run in the Majors.
New to the list
Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:
- No. 3 Seth Hernandez, RHP (Drafted in first round)
- No. 7 Sammy Stafura, SS (Acquired in Ke’Bryan Hayes trade)
- No. 8 Rafael Flores, C/1B (Acquired in David Bednar trade)
- No. 17 Edgleen Perez, C/1B (Acquired in Bednar trade)
- No. 20 Easton Carmichael, C (Drafted in third round)
- No. 23 Murf Gray, 3B (Drafted with Competitive Balance Round B pick)
- No. 24 Jeter Martinez, RHP (Acquired in Caleb Ferguson trade)
- No. 26 Gustavo Melendez, SS (Drafted in fourth round)
- No. 27 Jared Jones, 1B (Drafted in ninth round)
Best tools
Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.
- Hit: 55 -- Konnor Griffin (Mitch Jebb)
- Power: 60 -- Konnor Griffin (Esmerlyn Valdez)
- Run: 70 -- Konnor Griffin
- Arm: 70 -- Konnor Griffin (Jack Brannigan)
- Defense: 60 -- Wyatt Sanford (Konnor Griffin)
- Fastball: 70 -- Bubba Chandler (Seth Hernandez)
- Curveball: 60 -- Seth Hernandez (Levi Sterling)
- Slider: 60 -- Bubba Chandler (Hunter Barco)
- Changeup: 60 -- Seth Hernandez
- Control: 55 -- Seth Hernandez (Thomas Harrington)