Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Potential 2022 Lineup for Double-A Altoona

The Pittsburgh Pirates farm system is loaded with prospects. The upper minors will hold many of these high-end prospects, including at Double-A Altoona.

The Pittsburgh Pirates upper minor leagues are very strong. Previously, we’ve taken a look at what prospects could reach Triple-A and what the overall roster could look like. It was quite strong with advanced prospects such as Oneil Cruz, Roansy Contreras, Carmen Mldozinski, Travis Swaggerty, Ji-Hwan Bae, Diego Castillo, Tucupita Marcano, and many more all having a very good chance of starting 2022 at Indianapolis (if teams must keep prospects down in the minors to start the year because of service time).

However, Double-A Altoona looks to also be a very strong group of players. Their line-up consists of many high-end prospects, and some that could be future stars within the next year or two. Double-A is, after all, just two steps from the major leagues.

What could Double-A Altoona’s lineup look like to open the 2022 season?

Catcher: Carter Bins

In all likelihood, the chances that Carter Bins stays as Altoona’s primary catcher for most of 2022 are low. With the likes of Henry Davis, Endy Rodriguez, and Abrahan Gutierrez likely starting the season at High-A Greensboro, Bins is more or less just a placeholder until one of that trio is ready to make the jump to the majors. Nonetheless, Bins is still one of the system’s more notable backstop prospects.

The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Bins from the Seattle Mariners as one of the two players for Tyler Anderson. Bins got off to a great start to the year at the Seattle’s High-A affiliate. In 185 trips to the plate, Bins posted a strong .284/.442/.493 line with a .410 wOBA, and 127 wRC+. Before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bins received 43 plate appearances with the M’s Double-A team, but had just 2 hits, albeit with 10 walks.

Bins didn’t find the power stroke he had to start the season with Altoona, at least not yet. He posted a poor .200/.333/.236 line with a .279 wOBA, and 71 wRC+. Bins still had a phenomenal 15.2% walk rate but struck out 28.8% of the time while having just 2 extra-base hits in 66 trips to the plate.

Bins is a bat-first backstop. He projects to have above-average raw power, but a 40-grade hit tool. Fielding-wise, he’s about average with a powerful arm. He’s quite athletic for a backstop and played some first base and left field in college.

Carter’s first showing with the Pittsburgh Pirates wasn’t good. But he’ll still be 23-years-old to start 2022. If he gets off to a hot start, he’ll likely be moved to Triple-A by mid-May or earlier to make room for one of the organization’s more noteworthy catching prospects at Greensboro. However, his chances of earning the position could be compromised by Blake Sabol who performed well at Low-A Bradenton and High-A Greensboro.

First Base: Aaron Shackleford

The regular Greensboro Grasshopper infield from 2021 is going to make the move to Double-A Altoona next season, starting with Aaron Shackelford. Now the Pirate first base prospect depth isn’t very deep. Mason Martin ranks atop the list with Alexander Mojica coming in behind him. So for right now, the current projected first baseman for the Altoona Curve to open 2022 looks to be Shackelford.

Shackelford was a 14th round pick by the Pirates in the 2019 draft. He’s a power prospect who hit .210/.290/.438 with a .313 wOBA, and 91 wRC+. Overall, those weren’t great numbers for the infielder. However, he did blast 22 home runs while having a .228 isolated slugging percentage. Plus his 8.6% walk rate was respectable. The problem is that he struck out 31.5% of the time.

Now he did get a bit unlucky. He had just a .252 batting average on balls in play. Even if he can get that up to .280, he’d be a .230-.250 hitter. Shackelford isn’t limited to just first base. He played an ample amount of second base last year and was primarily a third baseman in 2019.

Shackelford isn’t a high-end prospect in the Pirates system, but there are far worse depth options out there. He’s a power hitter who can play multiple positions who puts up an average walk rate. You can only ask so much out of a 14th round draft pick.

Second Base: Nick Gonzales

The most talented of the Grasshopper infielders will also make the jump to Altoona. That’s Nick Gonzales. Gonzales was the 7th overall pick in the 2020 draft. An over-slot selection by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Gonzales was arguably the best pure hitter available, showing an ability to hit for power, contact, draw walks, and avoid strikeouts.

Gonzales couldn’t have asked for a better start to his pro career. In 369 plate appearances, Gonzales slashed .302/.385/.565 with a .405 wOBA, and 150 wRC+. He showed both power and base running prowess with 18 home runs and 7 stolen bases in 9 attempts. Now Gonzales did have a 27.4% strikeout rate, but he slowly decreased his strikeout rate throughout the season. Meanwhile, he offset that with a healthy 10.8% walk rate.

He did have a .388 batting average on balls in play, but he also had an line drive rate of 27.9% and fly ball rate higher than his ground ball rate (36.5% to 35.6%). A high BAbip is bound to happen with such a line-drive-oriented hitter who also hits more fly balls than ground balls. He struck out a little more than you’d like to see, but as stated earlier, he decreased it as the season went on. From August onward, he had a much better 23.3% strikeout rate.

Gonzales looks to be one of, if not the best second base prospect in the minor leagues. Heck, he should be one of the highest-end prospects in the sport. He has power, he can hit for contact, get on base, show solid defense up the middle, and has a decent ability to round the bases. The young infielder may even see the major leagues at the tail-end of the season if he stays healthy.

Third Base: Jared Triolo

Jared Triolo was one of the more unsung heroes of the Pirate minor leagues last year. The infielder was a third-round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019. After a solid showing at Low-A West Virginia, Triolo started 2021 at High-A Greensboro where he put up some impressive numbers.

Triolo batted .304/.369/.480 with a .371 wOBA, and 128 wRC+. He displayed respectable power, slugging 15 home runs with a .176 ISO. His plate discipline was also above average. Triolo drew a walk at an 8.9% pace but had a strikeout rate of just 19.9%. Like Gonzales, Triolo had a higher fly ball rate (38.3%) than ground ball rate (38%). His 23.8% line drive rate wasn’t as high as Gonzales’, but it was solid nonetheless and led to a .358 BAbip.

Triolo is one of Pittsburgh’s best fielding minor leaguers. He won the Gold Glove at his level and projects to be an above-average defender at third base. He also saw a handful of innings at shortstop, both in 2019 and 2021. He has the speed to play up the middle as he swiped 25 bases.

Triolo may not be the most popular prospect in the Pirates’ system, but he showed some promise last year. Altoona’s infield looks to be one of the best throughout the minor leagues. What’s even more impressive is that between second base, third base, and shortstop, Triolo is the third-best player. Triolo will be in his age-24 season. After his great season at Greensboro, you might be able to make the argument to jump him to Triple-A. Though a more likely scenario is that he starts the year at Double-A and is promoted to Triple-A by mid-May or earlier.

Shortstop: Liover Peguero

Gonzales’ double-play partner Liover Peguero will also make the jump to Double-A. The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Peguero in the Starling Marte deal and Peguero has quickly built up his prospect status since being acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now, he ranks as a consensus top 100 prospect.

Last year, Peguero posted a solid .270/.332/.444 line at Greensboro to go with a .338 wOBA, and 108 wRC+. He only had a 7.9% walk rate and 25.2% strikeout rate, which isn’t anything to write home about, but he popped 14 long balls and put up a .174 isolated slugging percentage.

Peguero also had a phenomenal second half of the season. From July 25th onward, Peguero hit .301/.359/.509 with a .374 wOBA, and 130 wRC+. He upped his walk rate to 8.3% while having a .209 isolated slugging percentage. With 8 home runs in just 163 plate appearances, he put himself on pace for 30+ in a full season.

On the defensive side of the ball, Peguero is a solid defender up the middle with Gold Glove potential. Sure, many will point to the 23 errors he made, but errors are the worst way to judge a player defensively. Remember, since post-integration, Luis Aparicio is 3rd in shortstop errors, Ozzie Smith is 11th, and fielding percentage states that Freddy Galvis is the third-best defender of all time at short.

Regardless of the number of errors he has committed, Peguero has the speed and arm to remain at shortstop long term. He’s shown the hands to play at short. He has Gold Glove potential over at the middle infield spot.

Peguero is one of the few prospects with a very good chance of being a true five-tool major leaguer. His power has steadily increased since he arrived in the pros in 2018. However, you have to keep in mind that he is still very young. 2022 will be his age-21 season. He was about 3 years younger than the average pitcher at High-A. He might not see the major leagues next season but is absolutely a candidate to get an early season 2023 call-up.

Left Field: Lolo Sanchez

Lolo Sanchez has been part of the Pirate system for a handful of years now. He debuted as a 17-year-old back in 2016. After a handful of solid, but unimpressive years in the minors, Sanchez looked to put it all together this year at Greensboro.

In 437 plate appearances, Sanchez boasted a .264/.372/.453 line, .365 wOBA, and 124 wRC+. The big breakout for Sanchez was his power output. He smacked 17 homers and put up a .190 isolated slugging percentage. From 2016 through 2019, Sanchez had just 15 home runs and never put up an ISO above .150 throughout an entire season.

Sanchez’s big power boost didn’t take away from his ability to avoid K’s and draw walks. His 12.6% walk rate was the best of his career since 2016. His 16.5% strikeout rate was a career-worst, but that’s still well above average. It’s also the third season in a row he swiped 30 or more bases.

Sanchez’s power boost doesn’t look like a complete fluke. His 33.9% ground ball rate is the best of his career by nearly 10%. It’s also the first time he put up a like drive rateabove 20% (25.1%) and FB% above 40% (41%). Most hitters with a 40%+ fly ball rate hit at least 18 home runs in full seasons in the majors.

Sanchez is a plus defender and could bring both power and speed to the table. The Pittsburgh Pirates have many different talented outfield prospects, and Sanchez could be another if he can show he can hit in the upper minors next season.

Right Field: Matt Gorski

Matt Gorski was the Pirates’ second-round pick in 2019. So far, he has been very inconsistent but has shown some promise. He’s far from the Pirate best outfield prospect but could be a solid option off the bench for the future Pirates if he can cut down on strikeouts.

We’ll start with the good news. Gorski showed he has the power/speed combo you like to see from prospects. He hit 17 home runs in 401 plate appearances, resulting in a .193 isolated slugging percentage. He was also 18/19 in stolen base attempts. Gorski had a respectable 8.5% walk rate and was a very heavy flyball hitter. His 46.1% FB% was the 27th highest among High-A outfielders with at least 300 plate appearances.

Now here’s the bad news. Gorski strikes out, a lot. He struck out at a 31.2% rate, which makes an 8.5% walk rate look poor in comparison. His inability to make contact frequently led to a poor .223 batting average. Plus he had a sub-.300 OBP despite his respectable walk rate. All told, Gorski had a well below average .710 OPS, .309 wOBA, and 89 wRC+.

Gorski is a plus defender wherever he plays in the grass. He’s seen time at all three outfield positions, and even a few games at first base. He might not be the most enticing part of the Curve line-up, but if he can show plus defense in the outfield as well as above-average speed and pop, there are a lot worse outfield prospects out there.

Gorski is going into his age-24 campaign. He’s a bit older than most Double-A prospects, but he hasn’t shown anything to deserve to skip Altoona yet. Plus the Pirates will want to give Gorski regular playing time, and he won’t get that with Travis Swaggerty, Matt Fraizer, and Canaan Smith-Njigba at Triple-A.