Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Prospects Pushing for Ratings Bump

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BRADENTON, FLORIDA – MARCH 16: Endy Rodriguez #80 of the Pittsburgh Pirates poses for a picture during the 2022 Photo Day at LECOM Park on March 16, 2022 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a loaded farm system, and although they already have plenty of other top 100 prospects, these three should reach that status soon.

Going into the 2022 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates had multiple consensus top 100 prospects. That included the likes of Henry Davis, Roansy Contreras, Oneil Cruz, Nick Gonzales, Liover Peguero, and Quinn Priester. Contreras already graduated from prospect status, and Cruz will likely follow very soon, but many more could join the prospects who are still in the top 100.

The Pirate system is one of the best in the sport, with FanGraphs recently ranking them as the 2nd best, right behind the Tampa Bay Rays. With many more prospects up and coming, the Pirates’ could start seeing more guys join top 100 lists around the web. Young players are performing well and are showing they deserve to be top 100 prospects.

Catcher/Utility Endy Rodriguez

Endy Rodriguez already saw his prospect stock rise significantly by the end of the 2021 campaign. He was among the top three Pirates minor leaguers in some of the most important offensive stats such as OPS, wOBA, and wRC+. The switch-hitting backstop was promoted to High-A Greensboro but could soon be looking at a promotion to Double-A Altoona based on what he has done lately.

Although Rodriguez had a rough April, he did a complete 180 and turned things around. Since May 1st, he has hit .288/.387/.511 with a .401 wOBA and 143 wRC+. A guy praised for his ability to prevent strikeouts and draw walks, Rodriguez has a strong 12% walk rate and solid 20.3% strikeout rate. Rodriguez is also hitting for some power, posting a .223 isolated slugging percentage. Even with his weak April, he still has a quality .829 OPS, .372 wOBA, and 125 wRC+ on the season.

Rodriguez plays multiple positions as well. A catcher by trade when the Pirates acquired him in the three-team swap with the New York Mets, Rodriguez saw plenty of time in left field and first base before coming to the Bucs. He still sees a decent amount of time at both positions but has played 88 innings at second base this year. Overall, he’s considered a quality defender behind the plate with an arm that can stick there as well.

Rodriguez is 22-years-old and has been on fire since May. He deserves the promotion to Double-A and the distinction of being a top-100 prospect. The only area he is weak in is speed and baserunning ability, but that’s pretty common for a catching prospect. All Rodriguez does is hit, and he’s become a notable prospect for it.

North Oconee’s Bubba Chandler throws a pitch during Game 1 of a GHSA Class 4A semifinal doubleheader in Bogart on Saturday, May 15, 2021. Benedictine won Game 1, 6-5.News Joshua L Jones /

RHP/DH/SS Bubba Chandler

Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates used three of their first four draft picks on over-slot selections. One of those picks was Bubba Chandler, a third-round selection out of North Oconee High School. Going into the 2021 draft, many had Chandler going in the first 20 picks. A two-way standout, Chandler flashed 20/20 potential with a plus glove at shortstop and a fastball that topped out in the mid-90s before his 18th birthday.

Teams were wary of his signability because of Chandler’s commitment to Clemson, but he turned down that opportunity, instead signing for $3 million with the Pirates. The signing bonus the Pittsburgh Pirates handed Chandler was the highest amount given to any draft pick post-first round in the 2021 draft.

It’s a small sample size, but Chandler is living up to the hype of being a two-way prospect so far. Between the FCL and A-Ball Bradenton, Chandler has 37 plate appearances, where he has racked up eight hits and nine walks. Five of those eight hits have gone for extra bases (a double, triple, and three round-trippers). On the pitching side of things, he’s reeled off 15.1 scoreless innings and has struck out 27 of the 59 total batters he has faced.

Chandler has displayed a plus fastball with good breaking and off-speed stuff. His power and athleticism have been on display at the plate and on the basepaths. Chandler has only played at pitcher and designated hitter so far this season. That’s understandable, given that shortstop is one of the most physically demanding positions on the diamond. There’s a chance the Pirates could move him to another position to preserve his health and keep his athleticism and fielding ability in play on the field.

Either way, Chandler will be a top 100 prospect at some point in the very near future. He was a projected first-round pick who is a two-way prospect, excelling at both so far in his young professional career. He might only be 19 years old, but you have to consider this is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent.

BRADENTON, FLORIDA – MARCH 16: Ji-Hwan Bae #81 of the Pittsburgh Pirates poses for a picture during the 2022 Photo Day at LECOM Park on March 16, 2022 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /

INF/OF Ji-Hwan Bae

Ji-Hwan Bae has nothing left to prove in the minors. However, he is still a prospect and one who is having arguably the best season of his professional career. Bae has steadily risen through prospect rankings and should make the jump to top 100 status sometime during the second half of this season.

Bae is currently hitting .304/.370/.468 at Triple-A Indianapolis. The speedy Korean prospect’s 16.5% strikeout rate is by far a career-best (unless you want to count the 152 plate appearances he took in 2018). Plus, his 9.5% walk rate aligns with career norms. Overall, Bae has a .370 wOBA and 124 wRC+.

Bae’s power has slowly but steadily been increasing since 2019. He went from a .107 isolated slugging percentage in 2019 to .134 last season with Altoona and now sits at .164. He already has one more home run and four more total extra-base hits than last year despite having 44 fewer plate appearances.

He’s only gotten more versatile. After playing shortstop and second base solely for the first few years of his career, Bae has seen an increasing amount of time in the outfield. This year, he has 166 total innings played between center field and left field. Between last season, his playing time in the Arizona Fall League, and this year, Bae has a grand total of 331.2 innings in the outfield.

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Bae might not be a big power hitter, but he isn’t Kevin Newman. Newman posted just a .099 isolated slugging percentage in the minors and never hit .110. Bae now has a career minor league ISO of .129 and is currently above .150. His lowest ISO would be Newman’s highest. Even if a dozen home runs is a challenge for him, Bae is a guy who could hit .280 regularly with an on-base percentage above .350. With his elite speed, he’s the perfect leadoff hitter. He gets hits, draws walks, and creates runs with his speed.

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