Pittsburgh Pirates: Taking a look at Solomon Maguire’s First Season

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been one of the more active teams in pursuing International talent over the last few years.  Even going as far as Australia to find a prospect with potential.

Solomon Maguire was one of the more notable international signings by the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 2019-2020 international signing period. He was Ben Cherington’s first notable International move, giving him a bonus of nearly $600K.  The bulk of Maguire’s bonus came from a trade that was completed earlier that year when the team sent Starling Marte to the Diamondbacks for 2 prospects and International Bonus Pool. That International Pool money allowed the team to put together a big enough bonus for Maguire.

Last year, he made his debut with the Pirates’ Florida Complex League affiliate, appearing in 17 games and accumulating 59 plate appearances. He only had 7 hits, but also drew 10 walks (17%) which obviously is nothing to get too excited about.  However, there were other stats to suggest the potential in the left-handed hitter.

Entering the 2021 season FanGraphs described Maguire as an athletic outfielder with “crude, but surprising bat control”. Despite putting up so-so numbers Maguire did show some positives as well.  For instance, he struck out less than once a game (15 times).  Also, hitting a couple of home runs at his age is always good to see. The power was there for Maguire putting together an above-average ISO at .156.

Next year is his age-19 campaign. The Outfielder is still very young and still has a lot of raw talent, which could be seen in his game last season. However, the potential, athleticism, and frame are all there for him to eventually be a Major Leaguer. He’ll likely see some time at A-Ball, as well as rookie-ball next year. He needs to show improvement on his bat-to-ball skills and put more balls in play.  If he does that along with his power he will start to find more base hits.