Prospect Watch: Edition 1 Infielder

Leading up to the season I will be doing several editions on prospects I think you should keep an eye on this year.  I will not call them necessarily breakout prospects, but rather prospects who I expect to take a step forward this year and start to get noticed.  I define breakout as prospects you have never heard of and burst on to the scene. In ways what Gregory Polanco did in 2012.  This will mainly be about players who I have followed and think will open some eyes  this year.

For the first edition I have picked a 3b prospect.  Just a few season ago third base was a prospect position of weakness in the system.  However, over the last 2 years the Bucs have really added to the spot.  Jordan Luplow is my prospect to watch this year.

Luplow was a 3rd round pick in the 2014 draft out of Fresno State.  Luplow mainly played corner outfield for the Bulldogs.  Luplow posses a strong frame at 6’1” and 200lbs, and is close to filled out already.  One of the notable

tools Luplow possessed coming out of college was a strong-arm and a solid frame that could allow him to develop power.  The Pirates viewed their system already over loaded in the outfield so they made the decision to move Luplow to an area of need, third base.  Luplow’s two strongest tools would transition to the position, while they would hope that he would continue to develop his other tools.    

Luplow spent his first season at short season single A (at the time Jamestown), he played 62 games there.  Luplow put up strong numbers there batting .277 with 19 extra base hits.  Last year he got the chance to really prove himself with a full year at Low-A West Virginia.  With the Power he put up another strong season that was not noticed.  Luplow batted .264 with 51 extra base hits.  However if you really dive in to his career minor league numbers there is even more impressive numbers.  In 2014 his OPS was .782, but it grew in 2015 to an outstanding .830.  Although his batting average fell by 13 points, his OPS grew by nearly 50 points.  His OBP was .360 and went up to .366 in his second season.  If he can continue to get on-base around a .360 clip and have an OPS above .790 he will continue to show why the Pirates invested a 3rd round pick into him.  

One last thing that has impressed me about Luplow is his combined numbers over the last two seasons.  The 22-year-old has walked 86 times while only striking out 111 times.  This is an impressive at a .77 walk-to-strikeout ratio.  A strong BB/K ration is .5 and up, and so far he has shown great plate discipline.  He also has average 67 RBIs over those last two seasons which shows his ability to knock runners in.  His career slash line is: .269/.364/.449 (BA/OBP/SLUG) with an OPS on .813.  On my prospect rating scale Luplow rated out as a potential impact player in the MLB, which is the top-tier.  Luplow is still transitioning to 3b, but still has at least two years to continue to develop at third base.  Luplow will be at High-A Bradenton this year and could receive a call to Double-A this year.  The Pirates typically do not keep productive players lingering at High-A.  One thing that has held Luplow back is the ability to stay on the field, he has spent time on the DL each of his two seasons so far.  If he can remain healthy, I expect Luplow to continue to put up strong RBI and OPS numbers.