Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect Stock Watch: Alexander Mojica

Although the future of first base looks to be Mason Martin, Alexander Mojica could be another good answer there for the Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates now have one of the best farm systems in the major leagues. With such a deep system, some really notable names can become some pretty underrated prospects as they haven’t had a chance to make a real name for themselves yet. This might be the case with corner infield prospect Alexander Mojica.

Mojica was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in August 2018 out of the Dominican Republic. He actually was signed exactly on his 16th birthday, August 2. However, Mojica wouldn’t make his professional debut until the following season in 2019.

Mojica started out his career with the DSL Pirates in the Dominican Summer League, and he was outstanding in the short-seasoned league. In 218 plate appearances and 174 at bats, the lefty slugger hit for a .351/.468/.580 line, 14 doubles, and 5 home runs. Across a 500 at bat season, that comes out to 23 home runs and 40 doubles. Mojica also showed very good plate discipline for someone younger than 20. He actually walked more than he struck out with a 37/34 BB/K ratio. Mojica’s average exit velocity was 89 MPH. That ties him for the 5th highest mark among players younger than 19. At just 16-years-old, and 2020 would be his age 17 season, you could expect that to rise. Mojica’s overall offensive output placed him at a 182 wRC+, and .491 wOBA. This helped him land a spot on the DSL All-Star team in 2019.

Right now, Mojica is a third baseman, but he should make the full transition to first base soon. Last year, of the 292 innings he received in the field, only 16 came from first base. Mojica is an overall below average fielder. While he does have a strong arm, with a 50 future grade by FanGraphs and 60 grade per MLB Pipeline, it comes with the fact he isn’t that great of an overall fielder. FanGraphs currently has his fielding at 35 with a future of 40. Plus with the likelihood of a designated hitter in both the National League and American League alike by the time Mojia is MLB ready, he can split his time at both designated hitter and first base if his defense doesn’t improve. However, his worst tool is his running ability as FanGraphs only gives it a future of 20 and Pipeline a grade of 30.

But there shouldn’t be much question about his bat. As you saw with his DSL numbers, Mojica can hit. FanGraphs gives his hit tool a future of 55, which would tie him three other prospects, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Ji-Hwan Bae and Juan Jerez, Hayes even having the best hit tool out of the Pittsburgh Pirates system before the draft.

Based on his power display in his first professional season, you probably could have guessed he would get good reviews for his power. In terms of raw power, he has a current 55 grade, and future of 60. While his game power only has a current of 20, it has a future of 55. While that doesn’t make him the most powerful player in the Pirates’ system, he still is one of best overall prospects in the minor league system for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’s the only player in the Pirates’ minors to have above average grades for his hit, raw power, and game power tools.

MLB Pipeline compares him to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. As, like Guerrero, Mojica is a “strong and big bodied” corner infielder. Currently, Mojica is still a very youthful 17-years-old. He has a lot of time to refine his skills as he is given an ETA of 2023. He already has great discipline, a trait many look for in a prospect as it shows they have very good pitch recognition. Not only could he refine his skills at the plate, but also improve his glove to make him a better fielder.