Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Checking in on Altoona’s Loaded Lineup

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.