Pittsburgh Pirates Potential Rule 5 Draft Pick: 1B/DH Ryan Noda

The Pittsburgh Pirates could have the opportunity to select a top 10 hitter from Double-A last season with their Rule 5 Draft pick in Ryan Noda

The Pittsburgh Pirates own the 4th overall pick in the Rule 5 Draft. It’s been confirmed that the draft will take place after the current work stoppage comes to an end. The Pirates will have an opportunity to select a prospect not protected on another team’s 40-man roster, and potentially find a diamond in the rough.

One of the players that could be available to the Pittsburgh Pirates at the no. 4 spot is Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder/first baseman Ryan Noda. Noda was originally a 15th round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays  in 2017, which means Ben Cherington is familiar with the slugger. Noda was traded to the Dodgers in exchange for right-handed swingman Ross Stripling in the 2020-2021 offseason.

Noda is an on-base machine that hits for power. Last season the lefty slugger posted an exceptional .250/.383/.521 line with a .395 wOBA, and 139 wRC+. Noda displayed a ton of power. He launched 29 home runs while having a .271 isolated slugging percentage. His 26.7% strikeout rate wasn’t anything special but pales in comparison to someone like Mason Martin. Plus Noda walked in 15.6% of all his plate appearances, helping to offset some of his strikeouts.

Noda was one of the 10 best hitters at the Double-A level. Among batters with at least 300 plate appearances, he was 12th in wRC+, 11th in on-base percentage, 6th in wOBA, walk rate, and isolated slugging percentage, and finally 7th in OPS. To go with all of that, he was second in the league in home runs.

Believe it or not, this was the second-worst season of his four-season minor league career. The ‘worst’ year of his career came in 2019 where he was still a high-quality hitter. During that season, Noda posted an excellent .238/.372/.418 line, .367 wOBA, and 138 wRC+. So even at his worst, he’s still been nearly 40% better than the league average.

Noda has a career .411 on-base percentage and .490 slugging percentage. He is just one of 30 total minor leaguers since 2017 to have an OPS of at least .900 in 800+ plate appearances. His 153 wRC+ since then puts him just below the likes of Wander Franco (156), Luis Robert (154), and just above Yordan Alvarez (147), and Jared Walsh (145). Noda has maintained high-level production in the upper minors because of his Juan Soto-like plate patience and despite his strikeouts.

The first base/designated hitter situation for the Pittsburgh Pirates is far from set in stone. Sure, they do have some potential between re-signing Yoshi Tsutsugo and top prospect Mason Martin, but the Pirates are rolling the dice much more at first base than any other position. Now that’s not to say that Noda is going to solve all the issues. He does have some swing-and-miss questions of his own. But you can’t just ignore the fact there’s going to be a guy with a 153 wRC+ throughout his minor league career who was one of Double-A’s top 10 hitters last year, potentially available to you at no cost in the Rule 5 Draft.

Ryan Noda has been one of the minor league’s best hitters since debuting professionally in 2017. The Dodgers prospect could be up for grabs when the Pirates’ selection comes around. He’d have a good shot at securing a spot in the line-up if he were selected by the Pirates given they could use a 1B/DH bat.