Let's keep on rolling with my personal top 30 prospects in the Pirate system for 2012.
Just a reminder from the last post, the thresholds for prospectiness are no more than 130 at-bats, 50 innings pitched, or 30 relief appearances at the major league level.
The number in parentheses is the player's 2012-season age, using the standard July 1st cutoff date. The level shown is my assumed level that the player will start at in 2012.
25. Ryan Hafner (20) RHP, A -- Like most HS drafted pitchers, Hafner went to short-season State College in his first true season. Hafner played second fiddle to Nick Kingham in the Spikes' rotation (3rd if you consider Stetson Allie's aborted attempt at starting this year) and acquitted himself well. In 65 innings, Hafner allowed 58 hits and only 20 walks. Hafner only had 31 strikeouts, but with the caveat that State College is primarily about establishing fastball command and control. There is not much emphasis on strikeouts. Hafner does not have an overwhelming fastball, even though he is 6'-6", as it sits 86 to 89 mph at present. He'll move up to West Virginia in 2012.
24. Jose Osuna (19) 1B/OF, SS/A -- Osuna was a 2009 international signee that made his stateside debut in 2011. Much of the attention in the GCL, among position players, was on Willy Garcia, Jodaneli Carvajal, and Luis Urena. But it was Osuna that outshined them all with a .331/.400/.511 (911 OPS) line in the GCL. I'm not sure about his 2012 placement, as I'm wondering if Eric Avila and Elias Diaz's complete failures in jumping from the GCL to Low A will make the Pirates reconsider such a jump with the next batch of internationals in 2012.
23. Alex Dickerson (22) 1B, A+ -- Drafted in the 3rd round this year, Dickerson is by some accounts the best 1B in the system right now. So why isn't he higher? Dickerson is a bat-first player, which is OK since his defensive position is 1B, but he does not have a great physique. Plus he has already had some back issues in his college career, so I'm going to ding him for that until I can see him have a complete season in the system. During his time at State College in 2011, Dickerson hit well with a line of .313/.393/.493 (886 OPS).
22. Gift Ngoepe (22) 2B, A+ -- This one in retrospect may be too high for Ngeope at the end of 2012, but I'm putting high on Ngoepe, especially after it seemed he was on his way to a huge breakout season in 2011. Ngoepe started out hitting .306/.359/.459 (818 OPS) with West Virginia, showing power previously untapped. Ngoepe had 5 doubles, 1 triple, and 2 HR's in his 85 at-bats before getting injured. He returned in July for 2 games in the GCL, but that was it. His defensive range is fantastic, so if he can hit at all he will be an asset. Ngoepe has been aggressively moved, so he could start out in Bradenton in 2012.
21. Tyler Glasnow (18) RHP, SS -- Stop me if you've heard this one before. The Pirates like to draft tall, projectable right-handed pitchers. Glasnow is a 6'-7" specimen that has an already nice fastball that sits 93 mph. Right now that's all he has, but has the makings of some good secondary pitches. He'll be at State College and because of his birthdate, he will be considered 18 for the 2012 season -- just one year older than Luis Heredia at the same level.
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