A Minor Review of 2015: Pittsburgh Pirates

Welcome to the annual series: ‘A Minor (League) Review of 2015.” This series is a great way to receive a quick recap of the ’15 minor league season for your favorite club(s), while also receiving a brief look toward the 2016 season and beyond. It can also be a handy feature for fantasy baseball players in keeper and Dynasty leagues.

A Minor Review of 2015: Pirates

The Graduate: Jung-ho Kang, 3B/SS: Kang’s freshman season came to an unceremonious end with a knee injury suffered in a nasty collision in the infield. The infielder preformed much better than expected after coming over from the pro leagues in South Korea. A big power hitter in his home country, he showed solid pop in the Majors with 15 homers in 126 games. He’s not a flash fielder but he’s steady and has added fantasy value because he qualifies in most (of not all leagues) at both shortstop and third base. Kang is expected to be ready for the start of 2016 but it remains to be seen if the injury will be a long-term concern.

The Riser: Harold Ramirez, OF: The Pirates have produced some excellent outfielders in recent years — with the likes of Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco — and Ramirez should be the next in line. The 21-year-old Colombian has battled injuries throughout his first four years and appeared in a career-high 80 games in 2015. He hit more than .300 for the second straight year, stole more than 20 bases for the second time and struck out just 48 times in 306 at-bats. Ramirez hit just four home runs in ’15 but has the potential to hit double-digit home runs in the Majors.

The Tumbler(s): Jameson Taillon, Nick Kingham, Clay Holmes, RHPs: All three hurlers were among the organization’s top starting pitching prospects but the trio succumbed to Tommy John surgery between 2014 and ’15. Their missed development time allowed Tyler Glasnow to become the organization’s undisputed top pitching arm. Of the three injured pitchers, Taillon should be the first player to reach the Majors since he already has Triple-A experience and was close to a promotion before his injuries (He also had hernia surgery while rehabbing from the elbow injury).

The ’15 Draft Pick: Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B: The son of former big leaguer Charlie Hayes, I have a feeling the younger Hayes will have an even better career. A 2015 supplemental first round pick out of a Texas high school, he’ll soon make his 32nd overall selection look like a steal. Just 18, he showed an advanced approach for a teenager and earned a late-season promotion from Rookie ball to the much more advanced New York Penn League. He hit more than .300 in his debut with a .408 on-base percentage. Just seven of his 57 hits went for extra bases but Hayes has the potential to produce plus-power at the big league level. (The Pirates first pick, Kevin Newman, also has a lot of potential).

The Lottery Ticket: Yeudy Garcia, RHP: Most Latin players are signed as teenagers but Garcia wasn’t inked to a pro deal until he was 20 years old. Despite that he has a fastball that can hit the upper 90s. Unfortunately the rest of his repertoire is underdeveloped so he has a lot of work to do if he’s going to stick as a starter. Given his age (23) the Pirates might want to consider moving him to the ‘pen which could help get him to the Majors in quick order as a set-up man capable of inducing a ton of ground-ball outs.





Marc Hulet has been writing at FanGraphs since 2008. His work focuses on prospects and fantasy. Follow him on Twitter @marchulet.

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johnnycuff
8 years ago

I was going to quibble that Kang never actually spent time in the Pirates’ minor league system until I realized that they didn’t get any meaningful contribution from the minor league system at all in 2015. Fortunately they didn’t really need it.