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A polarizing prospect, shortstop Ji-Hwan Bae has emerged as one of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ top 10 prospects – checking in at number 8 on the list – despite serving a suspension last season.
Every baseball season each MLB team has breakout prospects. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, shortstop Ji-Hwan Bae fit this bill in 2019. After a big 2019 season, the Korean native now finds himself among the team’s top 10 prospects.
Bae’s breakout season was an abbreviated one. Due to having to serve a suspension stemming from a domestic violence issue in his native Korea, Bae played in just 86 games for the Low-A Greensboro Grasshoppers last season. In these 86 games, however, Bae made his presence known.
The 20-year-old Bae slashed .323/.403/.430 in 2019. He posted a 11.3% walk rate, 20.3% strikeout rate, a .384 wOBA, and a wRC+ of 145. The speedster also stole 31 bases for the Grasshoppers.
The one big issue with Bae in 2019 was his power. In addition to slugging just .430, his ISO was just .107. He did not hit a home run, he still has not in two professional seasons, and his 9.1% extra base hit rate was just a tick lower than you would like to see.
A big reason Bae became a Pirate was the Andrew McCutchen trade. Due to extra international free agency money that was available after that trade, the Pirates signed Bae after his deal with the Atlanta Brave was nixed due to the Braves violating international free agency rules.
Quickly, Bae became a rising prospect in the Pirate system. He has a plus hit tool, and should be an average at worst defender at shortstop. If he can develop more consistency at short, then Bae could become a plus defender at the position.
The 2020 season is one that could go a few different ways for Bae. He could begin the season back with Low-A Greensboro, and then earn a promotion to High-A Bradenton before the end of the season. However, if the Pirates decide to be aggressive with Bae then he could begin the season with Bradenton with a promotion to Double-A Altoona waiting in the wings with a strong season.