There has been a growing narrative in Pittsburgh over the last week that the Pirates are having a down year in their farm system. The narrative also says that the Pirates don't have prospects to trade, or that they have done a poor job drafting, which is why they don't have any help coming up this year at their specific area of need.
I specify that this narrative only exists in Pittsburgh, because the Pirates continue to get great ratings for their farm system and prospects from national evaluators outside of Pittsburgh. Keith Law had the Pirates just outside of his top five farm systems this week, and that was after ranking four Pirates in his mid-season top 50.