Pittsburgh Pirates Top 30 Prospects 2019 Season Rewind: Jared Triolo

Next up on the Pittsburgh Pirates top 30 prospects 2019 season rewind is the first member of the 2019 draft class to crack the list

With the 72nd overall pick in this past June’s 2019 MLB Draft the Pittsburgh Pirates selected a college hitter. This hitter was University of Houston product Jared Triolo. Triolo is a right-handed hitting third baseman who also played shortstop in college for the Cougars.

Triolo quickly signed with the Pirates after being drafted. Due to this, he was able to accumulate plenty of at bats over the summer. This will be very beneficial for Triolo moving forward in his professional career.

Triolo played 60 games for the short-season Low-A West Virginia Black Bears. In these 60 games he piled up 264 plate appearances and put together decent numbers.

In those 264 PAs with the Black Bears Triolo slashed .239/.314/.389 with a 10.2% walk rate and a 18.6% strikeout rate. The walk rate was great to see from Triolo. 10.2% is a well above MLB average walk rate. Few hitters have that sort of plate eye and plate patience in their first taste of professional baseball.

Triolo’s ISO was .158 and he collected 26 extra base hits (19 doubles, 5 triples, 2 home runs) for a healthy 11.1% extra base hit rate. Due to his extra base hit ability, Triolo posted a 110 wRC+ which is 10 points better than the MLB average of 100.

MLB Pipeline had the following to say about Triolo when he was drafted:

“Triolo has a prettier swing than most right-handers and uses it to make consistent contact while controlling the strike zone. He has strength and leverage in his impressive 6-foot-3 frame, but his bat speed is merely average and has limited his power production. Unless he can quicken his stroke and perhaps add more loft, he may max out at 30-35 doubles and 15 homers per season at the next level.”

When the 2020 season begins Triolo will be 22-years-old. This combined with a strong showing with West Virginia this past summer will likely lead to Triolo opening the 2020 season with full-season Low-A Greensboro. However, since he is a college hitter and therefor more advanced he could start the season with High-A Bradenton.