Pittsburgh Pirates: Four Unsung Minor League Performances

Outfielder Lolo Sanchez

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed outfielder Lolo Sanchez back in July 2015. Going into this season Sanchez had a few solid seasons, but nothing that really stood out. He showed plus speed and a decent ability to reach base. But that was about it.

This season, however, he added a fair bit of power to his game. Sanchez played the full season at High-A Greensboro where he batted for a good .264/.372/.453 line, along with 17 home runs. Sanchez hit more home runs in just 437 plate appearances this year than he did in total between 2016 and 2019. He put up a strong .190 isolated slugging percentage, along with a .365 wOBA, and 124 wRC+.

Sanchez struck out just 16.4% of the time, the best strikeout rate in the Pirate minor league system (min. 300 plate appearances). Plus he continued to walk at a strong pace, having a 12.6% walk rate. But his massive power boost didn’t come at the cost of his speed. He still swiped 30 bases in 39 attempts.

Sanchez’s big power output comes from his career-high flyball rate of 41%, and career-best line drive rate of 25.1%. Plus he was hitting far fewer ground balls with a sub-35% ground ball rate (33.9%). Heck, you may even be able to argue he got unlucky. Despite a line drive rate of around 25% and a healthy flyball rate while avoiding grounders, he only had a .282 batting average on balls in play.

Overall, it was a very promising season for the 22-year-old outfielder. If the Pittsburgh Pirates decide to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft (something I think is very likely for Sanchez), he’ll probably start the season out at Double-A. If his power output wasn’t just a fluke, he may even get his first taste of big-league action late into the 2022 season.

Infielder Jared Triolo

The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted infielder Jared Triolo in the second round of the 2019 draft. After a solid, albeit unimpressive first taste of big-league action in 2019, Triolo had a nice breakout campaign during the 2021 season. He was teammates with Lolo Sanchez, providing another very good bat down at High-A.

Triolo batted .304/.369/.480 with a .371 wOBA, and 128 wRC+. Triolo’s plate discipline wasn’t overly impressive but still was solid with an 8.9% walk rate and 19.9% strikeout rate. Posting a near-9% walk rate and sub-20% strikeout rate is decent, especially for a guy in just his second professional season. Now Triolo showed solid power as well. He blasted 15 home runs while having 29 doubles in 473 plate appearances. Triolo also had a solid batted ball profile as well. He hit line drives at a 23.8% rate while having a sub-40% ground ball rate (38%). He even had a higher fly ball rate than his ground ball rate (38.8%).

He also brings some athleticism. Along with 25 stolen bases, the third baseman is considered a plus defender at his primary position. However, he also has experience at shortstop. He appeared at the middle infield position for 150.1 innings. While it will be hard for him to breakthrough in the majors as a third baseman with the Pirates with Ke’Bryan Hayes on hand, he’s more than athletic and versatile enough to play other positions.

He’ll likely be teammates with Sanchez up at Double-A to start the 2022 season. But also like the speedy outfielder, could possibly get some Major League time by the end of the season. Along with both positions on the left side of the infield, he played a decent bit of left field in college, and could probably man both positions on the right side of the infield if he needed to.

Pitcher Logan Hofmann

The deepest and most impressive part of the Pirate farm system is their pitching depth. Sure, Roansy Contreras, Quinn Priester, Miguel Yajure, Carmen Mlodzinski, as well as a handful of others have gotten more attention this year. But with so many good pitching prospects, some are bound to be swept under the rug unintentionally. One of them was Logan Hofmann.

Hofmann was the Pirates’ 5th round pick in 2020. The right-hander ended his college career with 28 straight innings without allowing an earned run. Hofmann ended up putting up some solid numbers down at A-Ball Bradenton. He posted a 3.59 ERA, 4.68 FIP, and 1.11 WHIP through 82.2 innings of work. Hofmann was used as a swingman, starting 13 games and appearing in 22 total.

Now Hofmann’s home run and walk numbers weren’t great. He had a 9.6% walk rate and 1.31 HR/9. But they weren’t bad by any means either. Plus he had a strong 29.9% strikeout rate. Despite his higher home run rate, he still had a quality 44.3% ground ball rate and line-drive rate of just 16.7%. His xFIP ended up being a much lower 4.05 mark.

Hofmann isn’t a very hard thrower, only averaging 90-93 MPH. But he gets plenty of swings and misses despite his lack of overpowering velocity. But it does have some movement. He pairs that with a big looping curveball. This offering comes in around the upper-70’s. It’s another pitch that he’s gotten plenty of strikeouts with.

Hofmann might need to refine his control, but his stuff is already pretty good. Next year will be his age-21 season and should get things started out at High-A. He (along with many others) could be an impactful arm by the 2023 season.

Infielder Jackson Glenn

The Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 draft was one of the most notable in their recent history. They went under slot with their #1 selection of Henry Davis, but this led to over slot picks on Anthony Solometo, Owen Kellington, and big draft steals (and even bigger over slot bonuses) on Bubba Chandler, Lonnie White Jr., and Braylon Bishop. Though paying out big over slot deals meant the Pirates would have to go well under slot on some picks. In the 5th round, the Bucs selected Dallas Baptist senior Jackson Glenn, who signed for just $12.5K with a slot value of $422,300. Glenn’s first taste of professional action was impressive, to say the least.

Between his time playing at the Florida Complex League and A-Ball Greensboro, Glenn collected 130 plate appearances (mostly at Low-A where 124 originated from). The infielder posted a .340/.454/.491 line overall. At just Low-A he batted .337/.452/.475 with more walks (22) than strikeouts (21). This led to a wOBA of .439 and wRC+ of 158.

While Glenn didn’t hit a home run during his time in the minors, he racked up an impressive doubles total of 14. He was on pace for nearly 65 in 600 plate appearances. Glenn was a line drive machine and avoided ground balls. Glenn was just a hit machine. Now granted, he did have a .423 batting average on balls in play. But speaking that he hit no home runs and home runs lower BAbip, it’s not a massive sign of luck.

Glenn mainly played second base in the Pirate system, but also played a few games at the hot corner. In college, he played at least 1 game at every infield position. He’s already 23 and will turn 24 on October 24. He’s easily a guy who could start 2022 in the upper minors and even possibly get his first taste of big-league action by the end of the season.