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Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Prospects Who Could Play Key Roles In 2021
These three Pittsburgh Pirates prospects could play pivotal roles for the team before the end of the 2021 season
The Pittsburgh Pirates have many different prospects coming up through the system. The likes of Oneil Cruz, Quinn Priester, Nick Gonzales, Liover Peguero, Travis Swaggerty and more will be playing pivotal roles for the Pirates in the near future.
While they may not play regular roles in this upcoming season the Pittsburgh Pirates could see some of their other more developed prospects take over pivotal and key roles this year. Today, we will take a look at three prospects who could do that this season. These three, not only, could be regulars by the end of 2021, but potentially be placed in very important roles for the team.
Jared Oliva
Jared Oliva has been very consistent throughout his pro career so far. In his first full pro season in 2018 the outfielder hit .275/.354/.424 line in 454 plate appearances at the High-A level. Overall, he had a .358 wOBA and 124 wRC+. The following season he was promoted to Double-A where he put up another solid .277/.354/.398 line with a .343 wOBA and near identical 123 wRC+.
Oliva’s plate discipline was also very similar between the two seasons. His walk rate in 2018 was 8.8% and 8.3% in 2019. He struck out just 20% of the time in 2018 and then just 20.5% of the time in 2019.
His ability to reach base at an above average rate really helped him show off his speed. Between the two seasons he stole over 30 bases and had a 80.2% success rate when swiping an extra bag. The only major difference between his two seasons were his power output. Oliva hit the same amount of doubles and more triples in 2019 than to 2018, but he slugged three less home runs. This made his isolated slugging percentage go from .149 to just .121.
Oliva is a fast runner. He was clocked last season with a 29 feet/second sprint speed, which was faster than the likes of Mike Trout, Trevor Story, Starling Marte and Billy Hamilton. Overall, that’s considered his best tool with a 60-speed grade. He does have some power potential with a 55-current and future raw power grade, but just a 40-hit grade on FanGraphs and 50-hit tool on MLB Pipeline. Still, if he can continue to put up an OBP around .350, he’ll be a very valuable asset with his speed.
Oliva is considered an average fielder in center with an average arm. Currently, he’s going into his age 25-season. The Bucs are set to open 2021 with former Toronto Blue Jays top prospect Anthony Alford starting in center. However, Alford has a wOBA of just .307 at Triple-A. While Alford will be given a shot to lock down a primary job in center, but Oliva could take over the job at some point this season.
David Bednar
While right-handed reliever David Bednar will get regular innings out of the bullpen, he could be the regular closer by the end of the season. This Spring Training alone has many excited to watch the Pittsburgh native. Through 8.1 innings, Bednar struck out 18 batters, let one reach first via free pass and gave up three hits.
Bednar, who was part of the Joe Musgrove trade, has also looked fantastic throughout the minor leagues. In 2019.2 innings throughout the minors, the right-hander had put up a 2.70 ERA, 2.14 FIP and 1.17 WHIP. Bednar was a strikeout machine, getting 303 batters down on strike three for a 33% strikeout rate. He also did well at limiting home runs with a HR/9 of 0.41 and ground ball rate above 40% at almost every level, except for his 21 inning stint at Low-A back in 2016.
Plus, he had a healthy 7.7% walk rate to go with his other peripherals. Bednar also has a sub-3 xFIP almost every year. The only times his xFIP exceeded that mark were at High-A in 2017 and 2018. While he’s struggled at the major league level, he only has 17.1 innings between two seasons.
Bednar’s repertoire consists of three pitches. Both his fastball and curveball are considered elite level offerings with a 60 current and future grades. He usually works in the mid-90s and can touch the upper-90s while putting some spin on the ball. His curve will come in with 2500 RPM. His third offering is a splitter, which is currently seen as an average offering with the potential to be another plus pitch.
Right now, Bednar is going to start the season in more of a mid-relief/set-up role with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Richard Rodriguez currently holds the closer role, but is an easy candidate to be moved at the trade deadline and even before it. If and when he’s traded, Bednar should take over the closer role. He has closer stuff and if he can control it, he could be the team’s long term 9th inning man.
Miguel Yajure
Like Bednar, the Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Miguel Yajure this past offseason as one of the primary pieces in the Jameson Taillon deal. The right-handed starter had the best season of his career in 2019. Through 138.2 innings, mostly at High-A (127.2), Yajure managed a 2.14 ERA, 2.51 FIP and 1.07 WHIP. He also had a strong 2.88 xFIP at High-A.
Yajure put up the best peripherals of his career as well. His 23.9% strikeout rate was his best single season mark, while his 5.4% walk was his second best single season mark. He also allowed just five home runs for a 0.3 HR/9 rate. This was mainly because he had a ground ball rate just 0.4% below 55% at High-A.
Yajure has the best command in the Pirate system coming in with a 60-future grade on FanGraphs. What’s impressive is that he has four pitches with the potential to all be average or better offerings. Out of his four offerings, his cutter is graded the best with a 60-grade. His four seam fastball, which hovers around the low-to-mid-90s and can reach upwards of 97 MPH, is a pitch with 55-grade potential. Another pitch with 55-grade potential is his change-up. His curveball may be the lowest graded pitch out of his arsenal, but it’s still seen as an average offering at the very least.
Even after the injury to Steven Brault, the Pirates still have a fairly crowded rotation picture. Chad Kuhl and Mitch Keller have two spots on lockdown with a mixture of Tyler Anderson, Trevor Cahill, Wil Crowe and JT Brubaker filling out the rest.
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The Pittsburgh Pirates also have Cody Ponce on hand who can fill in as a swingman. However, if they’re healthy and pitching to a competent level, Anderson and Cahill will be dealt at some point throughout the season. Kuhl got some trade attention last trade deadline and some teams kicked the tires on him throughout the off season, so he could be a name to be moved as well. Yajure will start the season in the minors, but could easily be one of, if not the team’s best starter in the second half of 2021.