The Pirates' number two prospect in their farm system will start the year out in Double-A Altoona.
On Friday, The Altoona Curve and Low-A ball Bradenton Marauders released their roosters ahead of the first season of Minor League Baseball since 2019.
Infielder Oneil Cruz will start the season where he ended the 2019 season, in Altoona.
Cruz played in 16 games for the Pirates in Spring Training.
In 30 plate appearances, has three hits, 0 RBI, 7 strikeouts, 3 walks and hit .111.
Cruz is ranked 2nd in the Pirates system by Baseball America.
At the beginning of the season, the Pirates farm system broke into the top ten again for the first time since 2017, so it will be interesting to see how their top prospects progress as the season moves on.
Other top prospects within the organization starting the year off in Altoona include:
Hitters:
Infielder Ji-Hwan Bae, infielder Rodolfo Castro, infielder Mason Martin, outfielder Cal Mitchell and outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba.
On the pitching side:
RHP Osvaldo Bido, RHP Cody Bolton, RHP Roansy Conteras, RHP Yerry De Los Santos, RHP Max Kranick (a member of the Pirates 40-man roster), RHP Travis McGregor and RHP Noe Toribio.
While Triple-A Indianapolis and High-A Greensboro have yet to release their rosters, Cole Tucker is expected to play a lot in Indy with top pitching prospect Quinn Priester starting in Greensboro.
Top prospects starting the year in Bradenton include outfielder Hudson Head (who came over in the Joe Musgrove trade) and Sammy Siani, RHP's Brennan Malone, Eddy Yean and Nick Garcia, infielder Alexander Mojica and catcher Endy Rodriguez.
Both Altoona and Bradenton's seasons kicks off at home on May 4.
