Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Rum Bunter’s Top 5 Position Player Prospects

Previously, we went over the Pittsburgh Pirates top 5 pitching prospects, but now let’s take a look at what we consider their top 5 position player prospects

The Pittsburgh Pirates farm system is full of highly talented young prospects. Recently, we went over what we think is the team’s top 5 pitching prospects. You can read this list here. But now it’s time to look at who our top 5 position player prospects in the Pirate system are.

Like last time, multiple staff writers contributed to this list. Each of us got to vote on who our top 5 Pirates prospects were with the #5 spot being worth 1 point and #1 spot being worth 5 points. Though there are 5 prospects that received higher votes than others, there were still some that got votes and didn’t make the list. So before we get into our top 5, let’s look at a few prospects who are still highly regarded and worth mentioning (note; these honorable mentions are in no particular order).

Endy Rodriguez

The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Endy Rodriguez in the Joe Musgrove deal as the New York Mets were the third team involved in the trade. Rodriguez has a plus hit tool and is a great glove behind the dish. His power is a bit fringy, but he makes consistent contact, gets on base at a high rate, and helps out with his glove. He’s arguably the team’s long-term catcher.

Diego Castillo

Diego Castillo was one of the two prospects the Pittsburgh Pirates received in exchange for Clay Holmes. Castillo provides yet another middle infield option with plenty of potential. He usually hits for a solid average with plus defense and speed. However, he’s finally showing some power with a breakout at Double-A this year with the Yankee affiliate and Altoona. Castillo has seen time at second base, shortstop, and third base. I projected him as the team’s shortstop by the end of 2022.

Hudson Head

The headliner of the Musgrove trade, Hudson Head was a third-round pick by the San Diego Padres in 2019. But he could have gone much earlier had it not been for him playing football and not getting a good look by scouts. Head has a plus hit tool, is fast, and can field center field very well. He draws a ton of walks and is showing some decent pop, though he’s still fairly young being just 20-years-old. His swing-and-miss can get in the way, but he really doesn’t have anything that can’t be fixed with just experience and good coaching.

Matthew Fraizer

The Pirates picked up Matthew Fraizer in the third-round of the 2019 draft. When the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him, he was more of your speed threat than power threat. Though this year, he’s been one of the best minor league hitters. He already has 21 home runs in 398 plate appearances while still showing some speed, the ability to draw walks and make contact at a consistently good rate. Though he may not have the highest of ceilings currently, he’s definitely going to get a shot very soon.

Number 5 – Outfielder Travis Swaggerty

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected left-handed outfielder Travis Swaggerty with their first-round pick in 2018. In 2019, Swaggerty showed some promise, having a 120 wRC+ and .341 wOBA. Swaggerty started the season out slow, having just a .244.340/.345 line, .325 wOBA, and 109 wRC+ through the first two months of the season. Though once the weather started to heat up, so did the outfielder. From June 10th onward, he hit .293/.369/.410 with a .363 wOBA, and 134 wRC+.

After not playing professionally in 2020 due to the MILB season being canned, he returned, completely skipping Double-A and jumping right into Triple-A action. He didn’t look too bad either, hitting .220/.333/.439 with a .343 wOBA, and 107 wRC+ in his first 48 plate appearances.

Though he was on pace to join the big league club by summer at the latest, his season was cut short because of shoulder surgery. He was a whole lot better than his surface numbers suggest. Swaggerty had a .200 batting average on balls in play despite having a 26.7% line drive rate. Now small sample size for sure, but since batted ball data has been tracked, only 8.2% of players have had a line drive rate of at least 25% and BAbip lower than .280 in 100+ plate appearances.

Swaggerty has always been praised for his power potential. FanGraphs sees his raw power as a 60-grade tool, reaching into elite territory. But he never showed off that power in-game, until now. Through his limited time at Triple-A, he had a .220 ISO, a .104 increase from 2019. A big part of his huge power increase is because of his GB% going from 49.3% in 2019 to just 36.7% at Triple-A.

Swaggerty has always had plus plate discipline, drawing his fair share of walks while keeping his strikeout rate around or above average. Throughout the last two minor league seasons, his walk rate has sat above 10%, 10.9% in 2019, and 12.5% at Indianapolis. His hit tool is considered average, projecting with a 50-grade. Though combined with his speed and defense, you could be looking at a guy with five-tool potential. It’s easy to envision a .270/.350/.450 hitter who will be gunning for a lot of 20/20 seasons and Gold Gloves within Swaggerty.

Swaggerty has a 65-speed grade, 60-fielding, and arm grade per FanGraphs. He’s among one of the best defensive outfield prospects in the game. If he can keep hitting the ball like he was at Triple-A, he will surely make an impact in the major leagues very soon. Next year will be his age-24 season, so he should get a call to the big league club within the first month or two of the season if all goes well with his rehab.

Number 4 – Shortstop Liover Peguero

The headliner in the Starling Marte trade, Liover Peguero looks like the future everyday shortstop of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite being in his age-20 season, he’s already at High-A ball, and not doing too shabby either. He barely played above Rookie-Ball in 2019, seeing just 93 plate appearances at Low-A. However, despite that, he’s jumped just one step below Double-A.

Peguero is hitting for a solid .261/.320/.443 with 11 home runs and 14 doubles. He’s put up a .332 wOBA, and 104 wRC+ through 313 plate appearances this season. Peguero has shown some solid power. Along with his 11 long balls, he has a .182 ISO. Peguero also did well with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019, batting .326/.382/.485 in 249 plate appearances between Rookie-Ball and Low-A.

Peguero’s biggest struggle has been hitting line drives this year. He only has a 19.6% line drive rate while posting a high 49.5% ground ball rate. Peguero has the raw power to be a plus hitter. He just needs to get the ball in the air more frequently.

Peguero is a hit-over-power kind of batter. FanGraphs projects his hit tool to be a 60-grade, though that doesn’t mean he has no power. They currently have his raw power at a projected 50-grade. In 2019, he had a 90 MPH exit velocity and a 42% hard-hit rate. His 6’1, 200-pound frame also suggests he has more power than his 45-future game power grade says. Peguero is a good runner as well. Right now he’s a 60-grade runner. His fielding is projected as a 55-tool, as well as his arm. He’s made his fair share of errors, but that’s far from a good way to determine a good fielder.

Again, while Peguero’s numbers at Greensboro aren’t eye-popping fantastic, you have to remember he’s one of the youngest players to have played at that level. Only 6 other guys who are younger than Peguero have even played 1 game in Greensboros’ division and even fewer have played a fraction of the amount of time Peguero has. Peguero is currently seen as the Pirates’ shortstop of the future. He may need a bit of time because he’s only 20, but his floor is extremely high.

Number 3 – Shortstop Oneil Cruz

The Pirates got Oneil Cruz in the trade that sent then rental reliever Tony Watson to the Los Angeles Dodgers. At the time, Cruz was a very young infield prospect and he’s developed into a prospect with some of the best power potential in the minor leagues.

Cruz has played his entire 2021 season at Double-A where he’s been outstanding. In 190 plate appearances, he’s hit .289/.349/.538 with 9 long balls, a .380 wOBA, and 136 wRC+. Cruz has put his power on display this year having a strong .249 ISO. Though his walk rate isn’t outstanding at 7.9%, it isn’t bad either. The same can be said about his solid 22.6% strikeout rate.

This isn’t the first time he’s had a good season. In 2019, he did pretty well in 292 plate appearances. In 2018, his breakout season, Cruz had a .365 wOBA, and 134 wRC+ in 443 trips to the plate. He’s been injured for part of this season, but still could be an integral part of the Pirates’ future.

Like I said earlier, Cruz has massive power potential. He can leverage his 6’7″, 210-pound frame to generate light-tower power. He has a future-80 grade for his raw power. His game power is a projected 60-grade tool. Not only can he leverage his big frame for big-time power, but he can also use his pure power to make strong throws. FanGraphs gives his arm an 80-grade. Cruz’s hit tool is fringy with just a 35-grade. Though he’s yet to hit for less than a .280 batting average over the past 3 seasons. This mainly comes from his so-so plate discipline.

The question is what position he’ll stick at long term. He’s more than fast enough and has the reflexes to make the plays at shortstop, but his arm is inaccurate at the position. Given his athleticism and strong arm, a move to the outfield may be in the cards for Cruz.

You could make a handful of comparisons to another shortstop who has recently made a transition to the outfield in Fernando Tatis Jr. A big shortstop with massive power potential, though some swing and miss who can field short, but his arm accuracy can get wild at times despite the raw strength he has on his throws.

Cruz is in his age-22 season. He should be in the Major Leagues sometime next season. Cruz has middle-of-the-line-up potential. You’re looking at heart of the lineup hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates, putting himself in a good position to drive in plenty of runs with his big-time power. What position he’ll play long-term is in question, but he can be a solid defender with a good enough glove to play wherever the Pirates need him to.

Number 2 – Second Baseman Nick Gonzales

The Bucs’ 2020 first-round pick, Nick Gonzales came out of college blazing hot. He ended his time at New Mexico State batting .399/.502/.747 with 37 long balls, 39 doubles, and a .510 wOBA. Gonzales had walked more than he struck out with an 89/79 BB/K ratio in 596 plate appearances. He also hit well in the Cape Cod League, posting a .340/.439/.610 line and .400 wOBA across 190 trips to the plate.

So far, Gonzales has looked great at High-A Greensboro. He’s currently batting .281/.354/.482 with 9 home runs, and 4 stolen bases in 254 plate appearances. This comes to a .364 wOBA, and 124 wRC+. Gonzales is hitting for plenty of power, putting himself on pace for about 21 home runs in 600 plate appearances while having a .202 isolated slugging percentage. Though he’s striking out more than you’d like to see with a 29.5% strikeout rate, he still has a solid 8.7% walk rate.

He’s gotten even better as the season has gone on. Since about mid-July, Gonzales’ last 120 PA’s have seen him put up a .351/.424/.550 line, .422 wOBA, and 161 wRC+. He’s still hitting for some solid pop with a .198 ISO but has increased his walk rate slightly to 8.8%. However, he’s also cut down on his strikeouts by a decent amount with a 24.8% rate.

Gonzales was seen as one of the best pure hitters coming out of the draft. He has a 60-grade hit tool, 50-future grade game power, and 55-future raw power. While he’s not the fastest base runner ever, once he gets going, he can get around pretty well. He stole 13 bases in 17 attempts while in college and is 4/6 in attempts at the professional level so far.

As a defender, he’s a below-average shortstop, the position he mainly played in his final season at college. But he can field second base to an average level at the very least. His arm is on the weaker side, so second base will be his long-term home. This past offseason Gonzales worked with former Pittsburgh Pirate and one of the best and most underrated shortstop defenders to ever play the game, Jack Wilson to improve his glove work up the middle.

Gonzales has one of the highest ceilings not just in the Pirate system, but in all of baseball. He was a consensus top 50 guy going into the year and he’s only improved from there. The 22-year-old should move up the organization at a steady pace given his advanced approach to the plate, strong contact hitting with above-average power.