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Pittsburgh Pirates: Rum Bunter’s Top 10 Prospects

By Noah Wright

TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 10: Ke'Bryan Hayes #77 of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks on during batting practice prior to the Grapefruit League spring training game against the New York Yankees at Steinbrenner Field on March 10, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 10: Ke'Bryan Hayes #77 of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks on during batting practice prior to the Grapefruit League spring training game against the New York Yankees at Steinbrenner Field on March 10, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – MAY 11: General Manager Ben Cherington of the Boston Red Sox stands on the field prior to the game against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum on May 11, 2015 in Oakland, California. The Red Sox defeated the Athletics 5-4. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /

4. Liover Peguero

Earlier we mentioned that when the Pittsburgh Pirates traded Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks they got back two pieces. The first was Malone, but he wasn’t the headliner in the deal. That title would belong to shortstop prospect Liover Peguero.

Peguero was an international signing by the Diamondbacks out of the Dominican Republic in 2018. His first taste of big league action didn’t go so well. Granted, it was a 161 plate appearance sample size, Peguero slumped to a .259/.331/.340 line between the Dominican Summer League and Arizona League.

Peguero got off to a great start at Rookie-Ball the following season. His next 156 professional plate appearances saw the shortstop hit .364/.410/.559 with a 153 wRC+. Though he wasn’t nearly as effective in the batters box when he was promoted to Low-A, putting up a .262/.333/.357 line, there were still a few positives. For one, Peguero saw his walk rate increase from 7.7% at Rookie-Ball to 8.6% at Low-A. His strikeout rate also trended in the right direction from 21.8% to 18.8%. Having a strikeout rate below 20% before you turn 20 is very impressive. He was also hitting less ground balls, which is another plus.

Peguero’s hit tool is considered his best tool, and it’s an excellent one at that. FanGraphs gives it a future of 60. In terms of base running, he currently has a 60 grade, but a future of 55. Regardless, he seems to know when to run and when not to as he was caught just 2 times in 13 stealing attempts in 2019.

Fielding wise, he’s considered an above average glove with a future 55 grade at short with a strong enough arm to stick there (55 current/future grade). Power wise, Peguero only has a 40 future game power and 50 future raw power grades, but his average exit velo was 90 MPH, showing that when he does make contact, it’s loud contact.

A good MLB comparison might be Jean Segura with better fielding. A guy who’s going to consistently give you a decent batting average, steal a decent amount of bases and give you good defense at short.

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