Down On The Farm: Second Basemen

Top Prospects
Alen Hanson - Hanson likely requires little introduction as he was once viewed as one of the Pirates top prospects and a potential future fixture at shortstop. His star has tarnished a bit in the last few years and now he looks more like a utility type player who has the upside of a solid regular at the second base position. He has his share of strong tools including good defense at second and plus speed but his offense tends to run quite hot and cold. He goes through streaks where he is selective and others where he is a free swinger. Overall he has the potential to be a good offensive player but needs to put it all together. He is out of options so he will need to make the Pirates 25 man roster or else he likely won't be with the organization.
Max Moroff - Moroff is in a similar situation to Hanson except he doesn't have the former top prospect status nor quite the upside. In addition to being a second baseman Moroff has spent a good deal of time at 3B and it appears the Pirates like him at shortstop over Hanson so he looks like he could be a nice utility infielder. Offensively he relies on his excellent plate discipline and willingness to take a walk. The willingness to work the count does tend to mean he strikes out a fair bit and in fact he also has times where he appears to be too selective. Moroff does have decent power for a middle infielder so that compliments his selective approach nicely but it appears to really be successful he is going to have to get a bit more aggressive. Defensively he is fine at all three infield position though not a stand out at any of them. He will likely continue serving as depth this year and its possible he never gets beyond that point.
Kevin Kramer - One of the more overlooked prospects in the Pirates system Kramer is better than a lot of people give him credit for. When he was drafted he looked like a lesser version of Kevin Newman and for all intents and purposes that is correct but that isn't a slight against him. Kramer is a good contact hitter who probably has a bit more power than Newman but he doesn't have his speed nor is he as likely to stick at shortstop. In fact Kramer really hasn't played much shortstop since joining the Pirates instead deferring to Newman. It appears possible than him and Pablo Reyes (who we will get to shortly) are going to man the infield in AA next year so there is a chance he sees some work at shortstop next year. Kramer looks like another probable utility infielder but he certainly has enough upside to become a starting infielder.
Middle Prospects

Erich Weiss - Ah Houdini as I call him (Harry Houdini's real name was Ehrich Weiss) is one of my favorite prospects in the Pirates system. He doesn't do anything outstanding but he doesn't have a glaring weakness either. Originally a 3B Weiss moved over to 2B because that is where there was an opening and he handled the transition well and is a rather solid defensive player there. He doesn't have a lot of power but he has enough where he can't be taken for granted and he has consistently posted solid K and BB numbers to go along with good contact skills. He is also a smart base runner with decent speed making him a well rounded player. As I said he is just a solid all around player who won't excite you but is still a valuable commodity. He is eligible for the Rule V draft but his lack of standout abilities plus limited upside means he likely won't be selected. He will probably share 2B duties with Moroff in AAA.
Pablo Reyes - Another one of my favorites Reyes has good speed and good power for a middle infielder. He hasn't got consistent playing time as he has the misfortune of playing at the same level as guys like Kramer and Newman. This past year the Pirates tried him out a bit at 3B and the OF and he handled himself ok there but he is really a second baseman who can play a passable shortstop. The speed and power combination along with good defense at second base makes him well worth watching and at just 23 with hardly a chance to really prove himself there is likely a good deal of upside here. As I said earlier it appears him and Kramer will probably be tasked with manning the AA middle infield so he may finally get his chance to put it together.
Mitch Tolman - Tolman is kind of like the Erich Weiss of two years ago. He was forced to move off the 3B position by virtue of a better prospect and he handled the switch to 2B well. He had a solid season offensively but as a college hitter playing A ball it rings a little hollow as that is expected given his collegiate experience. He isn't the base runner Weiss is and didn't take to second as well as him (there were no glaring issues but Weiss is a legitimately good defender there) so the upside isn't quite as high and he is going to have to prove himself against better competition but he is a solid enough prospect that he is worth watching this season.
Organizational Players
Anderson Feliz was signed by the Pirates out of independent ball prior to last year but I have to admit he always impressed me with his approach at the plate when I saw him at Altoona last year. He has a real good approach and is willing to do whatever is asked of him but he just doesn't have a whole lot of upside. Chris Diaz was an organizational player who got an unexpected chance to show himself to be more when the Pirates traded JaCoby Jones but he didn't run with the opportunity. He is a solid defensive infielder but he lacks much of a bat. Tyler Filliben looked modestly interesting when the Pirates drafted him back in 2014 as he was an offensive oriented middle infielder but he has never real shown a lot at the plate and now appears to have settled into an organizational role. Contrary to Filliben, Erik Forgione looked like a future organizational guy when he was drafted back in 2014 and has quickly settled into such a role. He is a solid defensive infielder but just doesn't have the offensive ability necessary to advance probably even to the upper levels of the system.
Low Level Prospects
Trae Arbet was a raw prep shortstop drafted by the Pirates in 2013 who appeared to have a ton of upside but one who needed a lot of work. Immediately it became clear he had a major contact issue which he struggled with mightily in 2013 and 2014. He put together a great 2015 but the contact issue remained and then this season he unfortunately missed essentially the whole season with an injured wrist. He has had to move off the shortstop position but he still clearly has the talent to be successful if he can somehow manage to iron out the contact issues. Nelson Jorge is a very similar prospect to Arbet. He didn't have the pedigree but he was a raw shortstop taken out of Puerto Rico in 2014 who struggled mightily during his first two seasons. Like Arbet he struggled with strike outs but unlike Arbet that appeared to be via his approach of working the count instead of an actual contact issue. He finally put together a decent season this year in his third trip through rookie ball but he didn't play a whole lot and at the moment isn't looking like much of a prospect.
Raul Siri was an unheralded international signing who out together an outstanding debut season in the DSL in 2014 but he has yet to build off that success in two years in the states. Time is running a bit short for him as he is already 22 and doesn't appear as if he is ready for full season ball. Much like the Arbet/Jorge dynamic Melvin Jimenez bares a similar prospect story to Raul Siri. He was a realtively unknown Latin American signee who surprised during his debut season in the DSl in 2015. He came to the states this year and though he didn't perform poorly he didn't enjoy the same level of success.

2016 Draftees
The Pirates selected/signed a bunch of modestly interesting middle infielder during this past draft. None of them are stand out prospects but for the most part is too early to write them off as just organizational guys. Kevin Mahala and Tyler Leffler were the only two of these players who were actually drafted. Mahala was drafted in the 18th round and thanks to Arbet's injury got a chance to play semi regularly at 2B for the Pirates Morgantown affiliate and he handled himself well there posting solid numbers. In college he showed good power but not a lot of plate discipline but his pr debut was kind of the opposite showing little power and better plate discipline (he struck out a lot but actually walked some). Leffler was a 27th round and was a senior showing he wasn't regarded that highly. He is a good defensive shortstop who can't hit much at all. The Pirates like to keep a couple of these guys around and use them as utility infielders throughout their minor league system.
Nick King, Daniel Cucjen and Andrew Walker were all signed by the Pirates as undrafted free agents following the draft. Nick King appears to be the most advanced of the three and he was technically signed out of independent ball as he signed with a team after not being drafted. He didn't hit much in college or in the pros but is a solid defender who will likely stick around as organizational depth. Cucjen was signed only after the Pirates suffered a fair number of injuries to their low level infielders. He played for Bristol and actually performed ok at the level. Walker is the most raw of this trio having come from Southwestern Christian College where he became the first player to sign a pro contract. The Pirates used him all over the diamond in rookie ball including a brief appearance on the mound.
DSL Players
Francisco Mepris looks a bit like this year's Siri/Jiminez as he is an unhearlded signing who happened to have a strong debut in the DSL. We will see how his move to the states goes next year. Christopher Perez was a bit more notable signing receving six figures back in 2014. He was original a shortstop but struggled there last year while also not hitting at all so this year he moved primarily to 3B but also saw time at other positions. The offense came into form this year but he continued to struggle with his fielding. He should be in the states next year. Kyle Simmons was signed out of the Bahamas and hasn't shown much yet in either his brief action in 2015 or his 2016 season though he did handle himself well when playing for Great Britian in the WBC qualifiers.