Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Breakout Hitting Prospects for 2020

Outfielder, Jared Oliva, Triple-A Indianapolis 2020 Projection

Jared Oliva is the first prospect who is primed to breakout in 2020.  Oliva was a seventh round pick out of the University of Arizona back in 2017.  The outfielder was ranked as a top 200 prospect in the draft, but slid to the Bucs in the seventh round.

Oliva is projected to be a a do it all type player.  He plays centerfield and should be able to play any outfield spot.  He has good speed and an above average arm.  The question has never been about Oliva’s athleticism or defense, but rather if he would hit enough.  This seemed to be the case when he only batted .217 through the first half of Double-A Altoona’s season.

However, Oliva bounced back very well in the second half of the season, batting a strong .325 and slugging nearly 100 points higher.  He carried that hot streak into the Arizona Fall League.  After leading the Fall League in batting and making an all-star game, Oliva has started to run out of gas but is still batting over .300 for the season.  With a strong second half and an impressive Arizona Fall League, Oliva is primed to breakout next year at Triple-A.