Where Pirates top prospects are starting '21

With the 2021 Minor League season opening, here's where the Pirates’ Top 30 Prospects are projected to start:

1) Ke'Bryan Hayes (MLB No. 9), 3B -- Injured
2) Nick Gonzales (MLB No. 35), 2B -- Greensboro (High-A)
3) Quinn Priester (MLB No. 43), RHP -- Greensboro (High-A)
4) Oneil Cruz (MLB No. 55), SS -- Altoona (Double-A)
5) Liover Peguero, SS -- Greensboro (High-A)
6) Hudson Head, OF -- Bradenton (Low-A)
7) Tahnaj Thomas, RHP -- Greensboro (High-A)
8) Brennan Malone, RHP -- Bradenton (Low-A)
9) Travis Swaggerty, OF -- Indianapolis (Triple-A)
10) Cody Bolton, RHP -- Altoona (Double-A)
11) Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP -- Greensboro (High-A)
12) Miguel Yajure, RHP -- Indianapolis (Triple-A)
13) Eddy Yean, RHP -- Bradenton (Low-A)
14) Ji-Hwan Bae, 2B -- Altoona (Double-A)
15) Mason Martin, 1B -- Altoona (Double-A)
16) Jared Oliva, OF -- Injured
17) Jared Jones, RHP -- Extended Spring Training
18) Calvin Mitchell, OF -- Altoona (Double-A)
19) Sammy Siani, OF -- Bradenton (Low-A)
20) Roansy Contreras, RHP -- Altoona (Double-A)
21) Nick Garcia, RHP -- Bradenton (Low-A)
22) Braxton Ashcraft, RHP -- Greensboro (High-A)
23) Wil Crowe, RHP -- Pittsburgh (MLB)
24) Omar Cruz, LHP -- Greensboro (High-A)
25) Jose Soriano, RHP -- Injured
26) Canaan Smith-Njigba, OF -- Altoona (Double-A)
27) Endy Rodriguez, C -- Bradenton (Low-A)
28) Max Kranick, RHP -- Altoona (Double-A)
29) Michael Burrows, RHP -- Greensboro (High-A)
30) Alexander Mojica, 3B -- Bradenton (Low-A)

Team to watch

That roster in Greensboro is pretty stacked. Watching the middle infield combination of Nick Gonzales at second and Liover Peguero at short will be exciting enough. Add in getting to watch a rotation with Quinn Priester, Tahnaj Thomas and Carmen Mlodzinski, all in the top 11, makes the Grasshoppers a fun team to follow.

Teams on MiLB.TV

Triple-A Indianapolis
Double-A Altoona
Low-A Bradenton

New faces

It might be easier to talk about who isn’t new on this list. There are eight members of this Top 30 who were acquired during the offseason via the trades for Josh Bell, Jameson Taillon and Joe Musgrove. Hudson Head, at No. 6, leads that group of newbies, in terms of rankings, though two of the newcomers, Miguel Yajure and Will Crowe, have already made their Pirates debuts.

On the shelf

Top prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes is continuing to work his way back from a wrist injury suffered after just two games with Pittsburgh. Jared Oliva isn’t expected back for at least a few weeks due to an oblique strain. José Soriano, taken in the Rule 5 Draft, is on the 60-day injured list as he continues to rehab from Tommy John surgery.