Pittsburgh Pirates Best Hitting Prospects Age-20 and Younger

The Pittsburgh Pirates farm system is loaded with talent and many of their noteworthy prospects are very young in Low-A and below.

I previously highlighted the Pittsburgh Pirates best 20-and-under pitching prospects. They have a handful of noteworthy arms, including Anthony Solometo, Bubba Chandler, and Jared Jones, as well as many others, who fit into a potential long-term picture. However, the team also has a handful of high-end position player prospects who are also 20-and-under.

Most of these prospects haven’t played all that much. For many, 2021 was their first season in professional baseball, so be prepared for small sample sizes worth of stats. Regardless, many of them are considered top prospects with a lot to deliver.

The best prospect among the Pittsburgh Pirates 20-and-under group is Liover Peguero. Peguero posted a .270/.332/.444 line with a .338 wOBA, and 108 wRC+ at High-A Greensboro. This was in just his age-20 season, making him about 3 years younger than the average age of the pitcher he was facing. Peguero showed some solid pop, slugging 14 homers and pairing that with a .171 isolated slugging percentage. He only walked 7.9% of the time and struck out at a 25.2% rate, but Peguero went from a borderline top 100 prospect to a consensus top 100 prospect. His power has steadily increased from year to year and has put him on track to be a five-tool shortstop.

Arguably the best hitter among the organization’s 20-and-under group is Rodolfo Nolasco. Nolasco was an international signee by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018. In his second year of professional play, Nolasco posted a .284/.409/.552 line, 8 home runs in only 164 plate appearances, a .436 wOBA, and 150 wRC+.

Nolasco showed both power and patience at the plate. His .269 isolated slugging percentage was nearly a 100 point increase from 2019. He also walked 15.9% of the time, which was over double his rate from his first pro season. Much of Nolasco’s power output can be attributed to his fly ball rate reaching just over 40%, compared to just 27.1% in 2019. He did strike out a bit, but a 26.2% strikeout rate isn’t much to worry about right now.

One of the highest ceiling prospects in the system is outfielder Hudson Head. The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Head in the Joe Musgrove trade. Head had a bit of an odd season. He hit .213/.362/.394, leading to a .364 wOBA, and 113 wRC+. Overall, his production was above average despite his low batting average.

This was because of his 15.7% walk rate and solid power output. He smacked 15 long balls in 434 plate appearances and had a .181 isolated slugging percentage. Head was held back by a 31.5% strikeout rate. Head projects to eventually reach a 60-grade hit tool with average power, plus speed, and above-average defense with a strong arm. If he can get his swings and misses under control, he could be a five-tool player.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have two 20-and-under prospects with a notable amount of power potential. Among the two, Maikol Escotto, has the higher ceiling. Escotto posted a solid, albeit unimpressive .234/.354/.347 line last season, leading to a .344 wOBA, and 100 wRC+. He, like Head, struck out a ton (30.4%) but also walked a ton (14.2%). The most disappointing part of his season was his lack of power. He only hit 7 home runs in 381 plate appearances, leading to a .113 ISO. Still, he was only in his age-19 campaign and he doesn’t turn 20 until early June next season, so he essentially spent the first fifth of the year at 18-years-old at an age most players are between 20-22-years-old. FanGraphs still projects him to reach above-average power and he has displayed a fair amount of raw power. He just needs to get the ball in the air more often.

The other player with huge power potential is corner infielder Alexander Mojica. Mojica was even younger than Escotto as he didn’t turn 19 until early August. He posted a poor .209/.322/.341 line, walked 12.1% of the time, but only had a .322 wOBA, and 87 wRC+. He may have had a poor season, but Mojica has continued to show off a massive amount of raw power. He isn’t even 20 yet but is listed at 6’1″, 250 pounds. His offensive ceiling is very high. FanGraphs sees his hit tool, game power, and raw power to all be 55-or-better. But pretty much limited to first base and DH long term.

One of the Pittsburgh Pirates over-slot picks from the 2021 draft is also one of their top outfield prospects. High school pick Lonnie White Jr. is a very fast runner with a plus-plus glove and strong arm to remain in center field long term. His hit tool can be a bit fringy at times, but he does have above-average power potential. Even if he only is a .250-.260 hitter, he’ll easily make up for it with 25 home runs/steals, and Gold Glove defense. Last year, White Jr. made his debut at the Florida Coast League, stepping to the plate 33 times. He only had 8 hits, but half of them went for extra bases (2 doubles and 2 long balls). White Jr. and Peguero share the same birthday, December 31st, and the former will turn 19 within the next few weeks.

Another high-end pick from the 2021 draft is Braylon Bishop. Bishop, like White Jr., was an overslot pick. However, he fell to the Pirates 13th round despite projecting as a top 100 pick. Bishop is a highly athletic outfielder with a plus glove, arm, and speed. His hit tool, also like White Jr., is on the fringy side but has about average power potential. Bishop joined many of the Pirates’ 2021 draft picks at the FCL, but didn’t perform all that well. He had just 5 singles and 8 K’s in 28 plate appearances, but again, small sample size. The lefty batter is highly praised for his swing and bat speed.

Bishop is currently unranked by both FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline. But another worthwhile unranked prospect comes in the form of Solomon Maguire. Maguire was an international prospect the Pirates signed with the bonus slot money they got in the Starling Marte deal. A highly athletic outfielder from Australia, he spent his year at the FCL collecting 7 hits with 59 plate appearances. He also walked 10 times and hit 2 long balls.

One last prospect worth going in-depth with is Shalin Polanco. Polanco was a noteworthy international signee by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2021. Coming out of the Dominican Republic, Polanco is one of the Pirates’ youngest prospects. This was his age-17 season. He spent the season at the Dominican Summer League where he had 176 plate appearances, but a poor 77 wRC+. The only tool FanGraphs sees Polanco as developing to an above-average level in is his speed. Other than that, he has a 50-projected grade for his hit, game and raw power, and fielding.

Along with these prospects, the Pirates have a handful more 20-and-under names. Juan Jerez, Luis Tejada, Sergio Campana, Osvaldo Gavilan, and Sammy Sinani are also 20-or-under and are worth noting.

This marks a boatload of very young talent scattered throughout the Pirates’ system. Sure, many of the top names like Travis Swaggerty, Oneil Cruz, Nick Gonzales, Ji-Hwan Bae, Canaan Smith-Njigba, and Mason Martin will either take over regular playing time or make their debut next season. But the amount of young depth gives the Pirates a potentially bright long-term future.