Pittsburgh Pirates: Five Potential Rule 5 Draft Selections

Catcher Ricardo Genoves

The Giants opted to leave Ricardo Genoves unprotected from the Rule 5 Draft, which may have come as a bit of a surprise given Buster Posey’s retirement and Genoves falling into near-MLB ready territory.

The backstop got better as the season went on. He started off the year batting a measly .217/.294/.364 with a .298 wOBA, and 77 wRC+ at High-A. He had a solid 9% walk rate, but a 29.8% strikeout rate kept his numbers low. But Genoves turned on the afterburners once he was promoted to Double-A and then Triple-A.

In his next 161 plate appearances at Double-A, Genoves was batting .338/.441/.551 with a .442 wOBA, and 141 wRC+. Genoves had blasted 6 home runs while having a 13.7% walk rate. Additionally, he only struck out in 18% of those plate appearances.

Genoves was eventually promoted to Triple-A. He only appeared in 6 games and had 23 plate appearances, but he had 10 hits. Three were doubles and one was a long-ball. He only walked once and struck out 6 times, but he had a 201 wRC+ in 6 games at Triple-A.

Genoves has a ton of raw power. He has a projected 60-raw power grade, but only a 45-projected game power grade. If he can tap into that raw power into game power, he could be a 20-30 home run backstop. His hit tool is projected as a 45-grade, but that’s still solid. He’s an average defender with a strong arm.

The only backstop the Pittsburgh Pirates have on their 40-man roster right now is Roberto Perez. Genoves not only provides a solid backstop but one with power who could also DH for the Pirates. He’s also played a handful of games at first base, so the Pirates could move him around if his bat lives up to its potential.