6-29-23 By Craig W. Toth (aka @BucsBasement on Twitter)
There are certain natural markers within the Major and Minor League Baseball Seasons. In the Majors you have the All-Star Break and the Trade Deadline, while the Minor League Schedule is broken into a first and second half; with the playoff contenders being determined by the winners of each division across these specific time periods.
For me Memorial Day, Father’s Day and My Birthday-which takes place less than a week later-usually symbolize significant points in the season; if for no other reason than these are the time(s) I am guaranteed to have conversations with friends and family members about the state of the Pirates, and the system in general.
This year these chats-held around the fire, and at a local establishment-were a mix of disappointment and excitement.
The Pirates were-and still are-in the midst of a free fall; as a former 1:1 (Henry Davis) made his MLB Debut, several prospects were promoted up the organizational ladder and others started their professional careers.
All the while, I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite quotes concerning prospects.
“Prospects Are Cool, Parades Are Cooler.”-Casey Stern
It’s clear what this means. Yet, I’m not sure some Pirates Fans are fully prepared for what it could entail, in an attempt to get to this point; or, simply because their favorite guy(s) never make a meaningful impact on the Major League Roster.
Week Of June 13th-18th
1) Abrahan Gutierrez-C/1B (Altoona)
Ben Cherington originally attempted to acquire Guiterrez for flip candidate Tyler Anderson back in July of 2021, before the deal eventually fell through due to an injury concern with the other prospect in the deal.
Not to be deterred he quickly knocked on the Phillies door again, in order to secure the 20 year-old backstop; who once received a $3.53 million dollar signing bonus from the Braves during their international scandal.
Seen as a defensive first catcher-a taboo distinction in the eyes of Pirates Fans at the moment-Gutierrez has shown the ability to be more than capable with the bat; slashing .266/.369/.431 with a 121 wRC+ during his time in the Pirates Organization.
Recently promoted to Altoona-almost two weeks at this point-the now 23-year old Venezuelan has hit the ground running for the Curve; batting .323 with a .989 OPS and a 160 wRC+ in an extremely small sample size.
2) Jase Bowen-OF (Greensboro)
After a ridiculously hot start to the season-which lead to him being listed on the Top 5 Pirates Prospects toward the end of April-Bowen cooled off quite a bit during the month of May, before rebounding his way through June; especially over the past week.
On the season he is slashing .233/.305/.448 with a 104 wRC+ and 12 homers. Still, his 28.3% K to 7.3% BB-rate is concerning, and may be the one drawback to an eventual promotion.
3) Tsung-Che Cheng-SS (Greensboro)
Over the first two months of the season, Cheng has been one of the most dynamic and impact position players in the Pirates Farm System.
On the year he is batting .314 with an even 1.000 OPS, 169 wRC+, 9 homers 30 total extra base hits and a 13.8% BB to 17.5% K-rate. At the moment it is not know what the effect of playing in the hitter friendly South Atlantic League has had on his numbers; but we will soon find out as he settles in with the Curve in Altoona.
4) Shalin Polanco-OF (Bradenton)
Following the delay of 2020-21 of the signing period, Pittsburgh-and Ben Cherington in particular-officially made his mark by inking the 11th Ranked Prospect to the second highest bonus in the Ball Club’s history; coming in at $2.35 million.
At only 16 years-old Shalin Polanco was on the tip of so many Pirates Fans tongues. Since then, some of the shine has started to fade; even though it’s not like he has accumulated enough at bats to know exactly what the future holds for this young man.
In 324 plate appearances-split between the Dominican Summer League and FCL-Polanco has slashed .225/.303/.353 with 6 homers and 22 total extra base hits.
Clearly the slash line-coupled with a 27% K-rate in Complex League-leaves something to be desired; however, at almost a full two years younger than the competition, some struggles were to be expected.
Unfortunately as the season began-and for the next month and a half-these struggles continued. That was until June rolled around.
Over his past 14 games-and 62 plate appearances-the still only 19 year-old young man has slashed .382/.419/.745 with an insane 202 wRC+; all while almost doubling his home run total, by bashing 5 over the wall.
5) Termarr Johnson-2B (Bradenton)
Speaking of 19 year-old Pirates Prospects…
After beginning the year on the shelf with a hamstring injury, Pittsburgh’s 2022 1st Round Selection has slowly, but surely gotten himself back up to speed; and, is now batting .248 with an .829 OPS, a 137 wRC+, 5 homers and 8 doubles.
Most importantly-over the past couple of weeks-he has flipped his K to BB rate to the point where he is now walking more than he strikes out; albeit by a very slim margin of 19 to 18.
Bonus: Miguel Andujar-OF (Indianapolis)
Yes, I know what Andujar has done in the Majors, every time he has been promoted; since his breakout rookie season for the Yankees back in 2018.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to imagine that the Pirates can ignore what he is doing in Triple-A Indianapolis much longer.
Currently he is in the midst of a 20-game hitting streak; during which he is slashing .427/.484/.744 with a 1.228 wRC+, 5 home runs and 15 total extra base hits.
Week Of June 20th-25th
1) Anthony Solometo-LHP (Altoona)
If you were thinking the 20 year-old funky lefty would slow down once he was promoted to Double-A Altoona-not that I am sure anyone thought that-you would be sorely mistaken.
As you can see below, Solometo has allowed just 2 earned runs in his first two starts for the Curve; with his last outing being a 5 inning, two hit, shutout performance.
On the season he now boasts a 2.23 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP and 81 strikeouts over 68.2 innings of work.
2) Jase Bowen-OF (Greensboro)
On the week Bowen added his 13th, 14th and 15th long balls on the year; which leads all active Minor Leaguers in the Pirates System by 4; as Mason Martin and Shalin Polanco both have 11.
Overall he raised his slash line to .255/.326/494 and his wRC+ to 121.
3) Michael Kennedy-LHP (FCL Pirates)
With the Florida Complex League officially getting underway, Pirates Fans are finally getting an eye on some Pirates Prospects that have been working their way through Extended Spring Training.
For those of you who don’t remember, Kennedy-Pittsburgh’s 27th Ranked Prospect according to Fangraphs and 19th on MLB Pipeline-was the team’s 4th round pick (110 overall) in last years draft.
Graded out as the best high school left-handed pitcher-#3 overall-in the state of New York by Perfect Game, Kennedy mowed his way through the Flying Horses opponents to the tune of a .60 ERA with 65 strikeouts, 8 walks and just 15 hits across 35 innings.
Named the New York Gatorade Player of the Year, he had a verbal commitment to LSU, but ultimately signed with the Pirates for a cool $1 million ($445,000 over slot).
With a low-90’s (55 grade) fastball, paired with a high-70’s (55 grade) slider and a low-80’s changeup (50 grade), the young man-who did turn 18 until the end of November-Kennedy could have easily chosen to become a Tiger in the fall; yet, as you can see, he was more than happy with starting his professional career.
Over his first 3 starts Kennedy has posted a 0.84 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP and 17 strikeouts across 10.2 innings; although he will need to clean up the walks a little bit, as he has allowed 7 free passes.
4) Yordany De Los Santos-SS (FCL Pirates)
De Los Santos was the Top International Signing for Ben Cherington and Company during the 2021-22 signing period; listed as #12 by MLB Pipeline, and given a bonus of $1.2 million.
At just 18 years of age, this young Dominican shortstop put on a display in extended Spring Training; a pattern that has continued into Florida Complex League play.
Over his first 60 plate appearances, De Los Santos is slashing .327/.400/.481 with a homer and 5 doubles.
5) Enmanuel Terrero-OF (Bradenton)
Terrero is one of the names that has regularly made my short list, on the way to determining the Top 5 almost every week.
Over the past 17 games-and 79 plate appearances-Terrero is batting .329 with a .934 OPS, a 154 wRC+ and 3 homers; although his 27.8% K-rate during the same time is something to monitor.
On the season he is slashing .304/.403/.442 with a 136 wRC+, 5 homers and 16 total extra base hits.
Conclusion
There you have it! My Top 5 Pirates Prospect Performers for the third and fourth weeks of June 2023; a couple days late.
Now remember, let me know if I missed anyone, and who your Top 5 would be. And, be sure check back each and every Tuesday-ish during Minor League Baseball Season.
Steel City Pirates 