Five Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects 2015: Where Are They Now?

(Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) /
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Pittsburgh Pirates, Former Prospect Willy Garcia
(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Willy Garcia

In 2015, outfielder Willy Garcia ranked as the team’s 12th best prospect. After the first few seasons of his career between 2010 and 2013, Garcia finally broke out with the bat in 2014. The Dominican born outfielder batted for a solid .271/.311/.478 line, and 114 wRC+ in 474 plate appearances at Double-A. He also crushed 18 long balls. Not only was Garcia considered a decent power hitter in the minors, but also a solid fielder with a 65 arm grade, and 50 fielding grade.

Going into 2015, Garcia looked like he was building off his 2014 season when he got off to a .314/.353/.441, start at Double-A. But after the outfielder was moved to Triple-A, things went sour. In 291 plate appearances, Garcia had a .246/.285/.424 line and 103 wRC+.

In 2016, Garcia’s stock fell even further when he posted a sub-.700 OPS season, clocking in with a .659 OPS and 87 wRC+. Garcia was designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates on the last day of 2016 and was claimed by the Chicago White Sox on January 6th, 2017.

Willy Garcia started the year at Triple-A where it looked like he was going to bounce back, and then some. His slash line in 134 plate appearances included a .286/.396/.473 line and a 146 wRC+. When he was called to the majors, Garcia struggled, collecting just 25 hits, and striking out 31 times in 119 plate appearances.

Garcia is still active, as he was last seen playing for the independent league Winnipeg Goldeyes. He actually did pretty well too, hitting for a .310/.376/.548 line and mashing 17 home runs in just 375 plate appearances. Garcia’s biggest issue with minor league affiliates was his strikeout rate. Oftentimes, he would strikeout nearly or more than 30% of the time, but walk only 5 or 6% of the time. With the Goldeyes, he still had a high strikeout rate of 25.8% but walked far more often with a 9.06% walk rate.