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Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Best Players Added Via International Free Agency

By Noah Wright

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 11: Rodolfo Castro #64 of the Pittsburgh Pirates gestures after he hit a home run against the New York Mets during the fifth inning of a game at Citi Field on July 11, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JULY 11: Rodolfo Castro #64 of the Pittsburgh Pirates gestures after he hit a home run against the New York Mets during the fifth inning of a game at Citi Field on July 11, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

Number 1 – outfielder Rodolfo Nolasco

The Pittsburgh Pirates signed the slugging outfielder Rodolfo Nolasco out of the Dominican Republic during the July 2018 signing deadline. Since arriving at the professional level, Nolasco has performed very well. In 2019, Nolasco put together a .302/.373/.472 line with a .405 wOBA, and 133 wRC+. The right-handed hitter only had a 7.1% walk rate, but an outstanding 11.6% strikeout rate. The only problem was that he had a tad high of a ground ball rate of 57.6%.

This past season, Nolasco got even better. He batted .284/.409/.552 with a .436 wOBA, and 150 wRC+. He also slammed 8 home runs in just 164 plate appearances (compared to just 5 in 225 PA’s the year prior. While his strikeout rate rose to 26.2%, his walk rate has rocketed up to over double his 2019 mark, all the way to 15.9%.

Nolasco’s batted ball rates were also majorly improved. His groundball rate decreased by over 15%, down to 41.7%. Plus his flyball rate rose to an identical 41.7% mark. This helped Nolasco post a strong .269 isolated slugging percentage, a near one-hundred point increase from 2019. He was on pace for almost 30 home runs in 600 plate appearances this year. He also had 8 doubles.

Next. Ben Gamel Rejuvenates Bat with the Pirates. dark

Nolasco projects as a power-hitting outfielder. FanGraphs currently sees both his game power and raw power reaching a 55-grade. Both already sit at a 50 at just 20-years-old. His hit tool projects as average, as well as his fielding ability and arm strength. Although not a bad fielder, once he fills out, he only projects as a 40-grade runner. He’s mainly played right field so far, but long term, he is a left fielder, albeit a good one at that.

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