Jonathan Mayo's list of baseball's top 100 prospects includes six Pirates. The first Buc on the list is Gerrit Cole at No. 8. Jameson Taillon came in at No. 16, and then there's Starling Marte at No. 34. Alen Hanson is at No. 54, with Luis Heredia at No. 73 and Gregory Polanco at No. 95.
↵Cole, Taillon, Marte and Heredia were all well-known before the 2012 season, but Hanson and Polanco weren't. They played together this year at Class A West Virginia and put up statistically-similar seasons (Hanson is a little more strikeout-prone, but that's the only huge difference between what they did at the plate). As WTM at Bucs Dugout notes, it's a little odd that Hanson is ranked so far ahead of Polanco. Hanson is a year younger, but Polanco has tremendous tools, and the sort of tall, lean frame scouts love -- I saw Polanco play at Pirate City in Bradenton before last season, and he impressed me then, even though he didn't go on to have a very good season statistically.
↵For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.