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Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Checking in on Altoona’s Loaded Lineup
The Pittsburgh Pirates Double-A affiliate has an impressive lineup that is producing.
The Pittsburgh Pirates rebuild is all about complete. While they still have a few potential roster moves to make this offseason, the bulk of the rebuild plan has taken place, at least on the player movement side. The youth movement had already started, but there is more to come.
Coming into the season the Pittsburgh pirates have Philly at the Greensboro get grasshoppers where are the team of interest. They had an intriguing lineup led by 2020 first-round pick Nick Gonzales. In addition to Gonzales, 2019 first-round pick Quinn Priester would headline the rotation.
While the Grasshoppers still have a lot of the Pittsburgh Pirates more upside prospects, the Altoona Curve also quietly have a very deep lineup. The Curves’ lineup is not only producing but they also have quite a few notable prospects filling out the batting order. Not to mention, they have been missing the team’s top power prospect from the lineup in Cruz since early July.
The lineup was already somewhat intriguing when entering the 2021 season. However, after an active trade deadline and other moves within the Organization the Curve are the deepest they have been in quite some time. So with that being said, let’s take a look at how the Altoona Curves lineup is producing:
The Infielders
Entering the 2021 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates placed their two top power prospects with the Curve in Mason Martin and Oneil Cruz. There would also be Ji-Hwan Bae another top infield prospect in the system. All three players have had strong seasons for the Curve.
Before going on the injured list, Oneil Cruz was the team’s starting shortstop while putting up great numbers. The left-handed slugger was batting .289/.349/.887 with 9 home runs in 43 games. Cruz looked to be on the brink of a midseason promotion before going down with a forearm injury. The good news is he is working his way back to game action.
First baseman Mason Martin has continued to show high-level power potential. The first baseman has hit countless bombs into Lakemont Park, which sits just outside the rightfield wall at the Curve’s Stadium. Martin is currently second in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system in home runs with 19 on the year.
Speedy middle infielder Ji-Hwan Bae has started to show some pop of his own with a .166 iso. This is a significant jump in Bae’s raw power numbers after having a .077 in 2018 and a .107 in 2019. Overall, he has been another solid batter slashing .268/.332/.434. Bae also has excellent speed, stealing 14 bases on the year. With this speed, the Bucs are starting to give Bae some time in the outfield as well.
The Outfielders
Canaan Smith-Njigba’s first season in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization has been a good one. In 248 plate appearances with Double-A Altoona, Smith-Njigba is batting .286/.403/.427. His .373 wOBA and 132 wRC+ rank 13th and 7th among the Pirates’ minor league leaders. He’s walking a ton with a 16.1% rate but striking out at a bit of a high 25.8% rate. He needs to get the ball in the air bit more (65% GBR) but has a ton of raw power.
Cal Mitchell is another one of the Pirates’ outfield prospects having a solid year at Double-A. He’s batting .268/.313/.439 with a .325 wOBA, and 101 wRC+ in 305 trips to the plate. Though he’s only walking at a 4.9% rate, he’s struck out at a sub-20% mark, 18% to be exact. Mitchell has always been known for his power potential and has a .171 ISO this year. Like Smith-Njigba, Mitchell is having a solid season despite a very low line drive rate (11.6%).
The last outfielder to highlight is newcomer Matthew Fraizer. If you follow the Pittsburgh Pirates minor leagues then there is a good chance you have heard this name in 2021. The former third-round pick is in the midst of a breakout season and was recently promoted to the Curve. Fraizer put up a ridiculous slash line at High-A batting .314/.401/.578. He has not missed a beat since joining the Curve. So far in just 5 games he already has 9 total hits including 5 extra-base hits. On the year, Fraizer leads the Pittsburgh Pirates Organization in home runs with 21.
New Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects
The Pittsburgh Pirates also acquired two new starters for the Curve at this past Trade Deadline. The team first acquired power-hitting outfielder Jack Suwinski from the Padres. Suwkinski was in the midst of a breakout season before being sent in part of the Adam Frazier trade. The other is infielder Diego Castillo. The Bucs acquired Castillo from the Yankees as part of the Clay Holmes trade.
Suwinski has quickly provided a boost for the Curve lineup. So far he has played in 12 games for the Curve. The lefty is slashing .317/.442.463 with 4 extra-base hits and 7 rbi. Suwinski was slugging .551 before the trade, so there definitely is more power for him to show yet. In fact, he has only 1 homerun since the deal. Despite that, he is still being very productive and showing why Ben Cherington made him a part of the Frazier deal.
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The same can be said for Castillo who also has remained hot since joining the Pittsburgh Pirates Organization and the Curve. Castillo has appeared in 13 games for the Curve and is slashing a solid .275/.362/.490 with 3 home runs. Castillo is doing a bit of everything, he actually has walked more than he has struck out (7:3) and obviously has shown off some power. If Castillo can keep this up he very well could make the Clay Holmes trade a big-time steal. Especially considering what the Pittsburgh Pirates have seen from Hoy Park, the other player acquired in the deal.