GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Pirates are well represented in ESPN's latest ranking of the top 100 players in Major League Baseball.
Problem is, four-fifths of the reps used to sport the black and gold.
Rays outfielder Austin Meadows appeared first, coming it at No. 90 after an All-Star 2019 campaign in which he slashed .291/.364/.558 with 33 home runs and 89 RBIs. Meadows was originally drafted by the Pirates in 2013 and made his MLB debut in 2018 for them before being traded in July of 2018 alongside Tyler Glasnow and Shane Baz for Chris Archer.
Speaking of Glasnow ... He made the ranking, too, clocking in at No. 66. The 6-foot-8 Glasnow unlocked his best stuff with the Rays, going 6-1 with a 1.78 ERA, 0.890 WHIP and 76 strikeouts in an injury-shortened season.
Glasnow's teammate Charlie Morton, who played for the Pirates from 2009 - 2015, also made the list, coming in at No. 53 after an All-Star 2019. He went 16-6, posting a 3.05 ERA, 1.084 WHIP while striking out a career-high 240 batters.
Sandwiched within all those Rays is the Pirates' lone current representative, Josh Bell. While Bell's 2019 ultimately dazzles statistically — 37 home runs, 116 RBIs and a .277/.367/.569 slash line — he trailed off after the All-Star break, leaving many to wonder what's in store for him in 2020. ESPN clearly thinks highly of Bell, ranking him inside the top 75 at 73 overall.
That leaves one more former Pirates player for the list — and I'm pretty sure you know who it is.
Gerrit Cole, who was drafted first overall in 2011 by the Pirates and pitched for them from 2013 to 2017, didn't just make the rankings — he almost topped them. Mike Trout is still the best player in baseball, and he's justifiably ranked No. 1, but Cole is right behind him at No. 2.
Cole went 20-5 with the Astros and struck out 326 batters in 2019, posting a 2.50 ERA and 0.895 WHIP across 212.1 innings pitched. For that, he was rewarded with a record-breaking, nine-year, $324 million contract from the Yankees.
Not bad.
While his spot on this list is well deserved, there's no doubt Cole's inclusion, alongside those other three, might leave a bad taste in the mouths of Pirates fans.
Who will make the cut next year for the Pirates? My money's on this guy.
