Depending on whether you consider Detroit Tigers prospect Spencer Torkelson to be a first baseman or a third baseman, Pittsburgh Pirates top prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes is either the best or second best prospect at third base.
MLB Pipeline continued their rankings of the top ten prospects by position on Tuesday, putting Hayes second on the third base list behind Torkelson.
Baseball America has a different take:
The five best 3B prospects in baseball entering 2021?
1. Ke'Bryan Hayes, @Pirates
2. Nolan Jones, @Indians
3. Josh Jung, @Rangers
4. Nolan Gorman, @Cardinals
5. Bobby Dalbec, @RedSoxSee where they rank in our new Top 100: https://t.co/Bw5sZsmjVI pic.twitter.com/QqJsJon3H4
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) January 26, 2021
The difference being that BA doesn’t have Torkelson listed at third base, otherwise he would be #1 at the position for them as well.
As for the Pipeline list, Hayes ranks tied for the best among the top ten with a 60-grade hit tool. He’s also rated as the fastest runner in the group (60 grade), and they gave him a 75 grade for his fielding. He’s also considered to have the highest floor among all of these prospects, and for good measure, he’s the top Rookie of the Year candidate in the group.
The Pirates had two second basemen on Monday’s list and Mason Martin made the first base list.
