This is an average, top-heavy system, with the best two guys having big success in the majors, while the rest of the farm is grounded in high-variance, high-risk types.
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Fangraphs released the Pirates prospect update. No super notable surprises here, but the Pirates have 8 45 FV or better SP prospects. It also has Brannigan at a 45 FV, which I think is a bit of a jump for him.
Fangraphs loves Jones as a prospect as well, saying the only thing keeping him from a 60 FV prospect is his size. He graduated as a top-20 prospect in baseball.
Yeah, I think this is a fairly encouraging writeup from a few perspectives. The Skenes and Jones profiles are unsurprisingly glowing, but the system is also reasonably deep with a number of guys in that 40+ / 45 range who either 1) stand to keep improving (especially some lower levels guys) or 2) be decent trade bait.
It's fair to say that pitching is a strength in this org, with the big three in MLB, Falter being adequate depth, and a fairly dependable ability to get cheap veteran reclamations to cover some innings. On top of this, you have Oviedo, Chandler as the major dev project, and several depth guys headlined by Burrows and Ashcraft at the moment.
Injuries will happen, guys will bust (but hopefully one or two turn into good bullpen options, a la Ortiz), but it's a solid situation to be in. I still don't really think we're at the level of being able to buy someone like Robert, but if we wanted to be aggressive for Chisholm or Ward, IMO we have the pieces to swing the deal.
As a system, it probably could be in better shape, but Jones' success and lucking into Skenes buys you a fair amount of a head start. If we manage to get a solid everyday college bat in the first round this year, then we'll be in even more comfortable shape.
