Pirates 'extremely proud' to see Baseball America ranks their farm system No. 4 overall

When the Pittsburgh Pirates hired Ben Cherington as general manager, he made the acquisition of talent his top priority. Through trades and the draft, Cherington has his fingerprints all over their foundational rebuild.

Where the Pirates have plodded through this season with one of the worst records in majors, their farm system is ranked one of the best by Baseball America.

The Pirates ranked fourth when Baseball America unveiled its midseason farm system rankings Monday, with the organization moving up nine spots from its February status. They were ranked 18th when Cherington was hired in November 2019.

It’s the Pirates’ highest ranking by Baseball America since being No. 1 overall in 2014, and their first time inside the top 10 since being ranked seventh in 2017.

The Seattle Mariners, who have three of Baseball America’s top 11 prospects, are the top-ranked farm system. They are followed by the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals, with the San Francisco Giants ranking behind the Pirates at No. 5.

“The Pirates now boast one of the deepest farm systems in the game,” Baseball America wrote. “There are teams with better No. 1 prospects, but few teams can match Pittsburgh’s depth of potential MLB regulars and pitchers.”

The Pirates have five players ranked among Baseball America’s top 100 prospects: Double-A Altoona shortstop Oneil Cruz (No. 29) and High-A Greensboro catcher Henry Davis (No. 47), right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester (No. 58), second baseman Nick Gonzales (No. 60) and shortstop Liover Peguero (No. 82).

The Pirates selected Davis as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, and signed the Louisville product to a $6.5 million bonus. Gonzales was their top pick at seventh overall in 2020, and Priester their first-round selection in 2019.

Cherington said Davis expressed a desire to play at Greensboro, where the Pirates have top-10 prospects in right-handers Priester, Carmen Mlodzinski, Tahnaj Thomas and Michael Burrows, as well as the double-play combination of Gonzales and Peguero.

“That’s not the reason he’s there, but it’s good to hear that, that he wants to be part of those relationships and recognize that, ‘Hey, these are guys that I aspire to play with and would love to get a head start on getting to know them,’” Cherington said last week.

“We wouldn’t want a decision only for that reason, but it’s a good thing to hear. Can’t hurt.”

Through Cherington’s trades of All-Stars such as Starling Marte, first baseman Josh Bell and second baseman Adam Frazier and Opening Day pitchers Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon, Pirates also have added the likes of top-20 prospects Peguero, infielders Tucupita Marcano and Maikol Escotto, center fielder Hudson Head and right-handed pitchers Roansy Contreras and Miguel Yajure.

In addition to Davis and Gonzales, Cherington also has drafted top-30 prospects in pitchers Mlodzinski, Jared Jones, Bubba Chandler and Anthony Solometo, as well as outfielder Lonnie White Jr.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton was enthused to talk about the Baseball America ranking on Monday before the Pirates played the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the teams they jumped in the farm system rankings.

“It means a ton to me,” Shelton said. “We’ve talked numerous times that the lifeblood of our organization is going to be our farm system. And the fact that it’s risen, in terms of publications, to fourth speaks to the plan Ben (outlined) when he got here.”

“He was very open about how we were going to build this. The job we’ve done drafting, the job we’ve done acquiring players in trades, it’s awesome. I am extremely aware of it. It’s something I’m extremely proud to be part of, and it’s something that’s going to help us bring winning baseball to Pittsburgh.”