Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Shalin Polanco Off to a Worrisome Start

Outfield prospect Shalin Polanco is off to a slow start to his professional career. Should fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates be worried?

Shalin Polanco was offered one of the highest signing bonuses the Pittsburgh Pirates have ever given out to an International free agent. The 16-year-old had signed for a whooping $2.35 million signing bonus which made most Pirate fans believe this kid was the real deal.

According to MLB Pipeline, the highly touted center fielder was ranked 11th in the 2020 International Top 30 Prospects. On January 15th, Polanco officially signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was quickly assigned to the DSL Pirates in the Dominican Republic.

On July 12th of this year Polanco made his first professional debut at the age of 17. He went 1-3 with a run scored, a RBI and a walk. This was exciting to see because he showed a lot of discipline at the plate and had a clutch hit to score an important run in the top of the 7th to keep the game close with Tampa. After this game, however, he went on one of the worst slumps a baseball player could have.

In his next 25 at-bats he had 0 hits and struck out 11 times in that span. He did manage to draw 3 walks during that hitless streak but struck out 39% of the time which was concerning. In the month of July, Polanco was 9 for 39 which equated to a .128 batting average. Again, he is only 17-years-old, but for such a highly regarded prospect we were all hoping for more.

The month of August has not been much better for the young phenom either. He only has 11 hits in 54 at bats with 17 strikeouts and only 9 walks. He has shown very little power so far too which is less concerning due to his age, but currently has only 2 home runs on the season. The video below is one of his homeruns earlier this season. I do have to admit though, his swing is pretty.

Polanco has great speed which translates well on the basepaths and defensively. He has been successful 5 out of 6 times when stealing. On the defensive side of the ball in 169 innings, Polanco has had 50 putouts in 51 total chances. This is a .980 fielding percentage which is impressive for a rookie playing one of the hardest positions in baseball.

In my opinion, I still have high hopes for Polanco and believe he will adjust to the professional game as he matures as a player. He is currently slashing .172/.274/.280 with an OPS of .553 as a professional and there is no defending that but, he still has plenty of time to work and improve all aspects of his game because he has the talent to do so.

Is it time to worry about Polanco? I would say yes. Is it time to give up on him? Definitely not! If he can get hot in September and show the Pittsburgh Pirates he is worth all that money then I would be happy to see him in Low-A next season.