Power Up: BA ranks Buccos best
Baseball America has announced its' picks for the Top Ten Prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and the West Virginia Power are well represented by alumni. Seven of the top ten players have worn a Power jersey in the last three seasons, highlighted by outfielder Gregory Polanco.
Polanco, a 2012 South Atlantic League All-Star and Topps' Class-A Player-of-the-Year, was tabbed as the top prospect in the Pirates system. The 22-year old played at three levels in 2013, finishing the season with Indianapolis, and batted .285 combined for the year. Polanco hit 12 home runs and drove in 71 runs between time with Bradenton, Altoona, and Pittsburgh's Triple-A farm team.
Jamison Taillon, a 2011 South Atlantic League All-Star, finished the season with Indianapolis after beginning 2013 in Altoona. Taillon made his professional debut with the Power in 2011, accruing a 2-3 record with a 3.98 earned run average over 23 games, all starts. The right-hander split 2012 between Advanced-A and Double-A.
Tyler Glasnow vaulted through the rankings after striking out 164 South Atlantic League batters in 2013, setting a new Power franchise single-season record in the process. Glasnow went 9-3 with a 2.18 ERA in 2013 and was named as the league's best right-handed pitcher. The Californian entered the season as the 19th overall prospect, but will begin 2014 as the third-best in the organization per the publication.
Austin Meadows was dubbed as the fourth best prospect after the Pirates selected the outfielder with the ninth overall pick in the 2013 draft. Nick Kingham rounds out the top five according to Baseball America. Kingham pitched exclusively for West Virginia in 2012 and spent 2013 playing for Bradenton and Altoona.
Shortstop Alen Hanson, a 2012 SAL All-Star, was tabbed as the sixth best prospect and was followed by Josh Bell, a 2013 All-Star for the Power as one of the league's top outfielders. Catcher Reese McGuire, the Pirates second of two first round draft choices this year, was eighth and Harold Ramirez was rated as the ninth overall prospect. McGuire played for the GCL Pirates during the majority of his first season while Ramirez was one of the top players for Jamestown in the New York-Penn League. Luis Heredia will enter the 2014 season as the tenth-best prospect after going 7-3 with a 3.05 ERA for West Virginia in 2013.
The West Virginia Power open the 2014 season on the road in Lexington on April 3 and begin their tenth season at Appalachian Power Park one week later. For season seats or more information, contact the Power front office at 304-344-2287.