Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Checking in on 2022 Draft Picks at Bradenton

Five position players that were drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in this past July’s draft are currently at Low-A Bradenton, how are they performing thus far?

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a college heavy draft in 2022. Four college hitters that the Pirates selected this past July, a five hitters total, have already start to log significant playing time with the Low-A Bradenton Marauders. Today, we will check in on how these four hitters are performing thus far.

Fifth-round pick Tres Gonzalez

In the fifth-round of the draft the Pittsburgh Pirates selected outfielder Tres Gonzalez with the 140th overall pick in the draft. Gonzalez was selected out of Georgia Tech and is off to a strong start.

Gonzalez has arguably been the most impressive 2022 draft pick thus far. Through his first 92 plate appearances with Bradenton, the 21-year-old Gonzalez hit for a .325/.413/.400 slash line to go with a wRC+ of 139.

Gonzalez has a 9.8% walk rate, which is slightly better than average, and his 13.0% strikeout rate is well below the league average strikeout rate for hitters. While Gonzalez has yet to hit his first professional home run, he has collected four doubles and a triple. He has also stolen seven bases. The strong start to Gonzalez’s professional career has been a pleasant surprise.

10th round pick Tanner Tredaway

In the 10th round with pick number 290 the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Oklahoma outfielder Tanner Tredaway. Tredaway was an older college hitter at 22-years-old, and is a hitter who should move on to High-A Greensboro next season after getting a cup of coffee with Low-A Bradenton this season.

Through his first 67 plate appearances with the Marauders the right-handed hitting Tredaway owns a .160/.373/.240 slash line and a wRC+ of 99. He has hit his first professional home run, driven in 10 runs and stolen a pair of bases.

While Tredaway is hitting just .160, he has been burnt by a .179 batting average on balls in play (BAbip). League average for BAbip is .300. When a hitter owns a BAbip as low as Tredaway’s it indicates that they have been burnt by poor luck and/or good defense. As his BAbip evens back out his numbers will improve.

Additionally, Tredaway has shown a good eye at the plate. He has struck out in just 14.9% of his at-bats which is well below the league average for hitters, while posting an elite level walk rate of 20.9%. Even with a slow start at the plate, Tredaway has still shown positive signs with the Marauders.

16th round pick Nick Cimillo

When the 16th round of the 2022 MLB Draft rolled around the Pittsburgh Pirates decided to go with a college catcher. With the 470th overall pick in the draft the Pirates selected Nick Cimillo out of Rutgers University.

Cimillo entered play on Sunday having appeared in just eight games with the Bradenton Marauders thus far. I those eight games he had accumulated 22 plate appearances and 50.1 innings behind the dish.

In his 22 PAs with the Marauders Cimillo has hit for a .188/.409/.188 slash line and a 104 wRC+. Cimillo has yet to collect an extra base hit, but has strong strikeout and walk rates. He has struck out in 22.7% of his trips to plate while walking at a 13.6% clip.

Hopefully, Cimillo will get a few more starts behind the dish down the stretch this season. This could put him in position to begin the 2023 season with the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers, although it would not be a surprise to see him start the 2023 campaign back in Bradenton.

No. 4 overall pick Termarr Johnson

The 2022 draft pick who generated the most buzz among Pirate fans was no. 4 overall pick Termarr Johnson. A prep infielder, Johnson was arguably the best pure hitter and best overall talent in the draft.

So far, the 18-year-old Johnson’s professional career is off to a tremendous start. Entering play on Sunday he had 53 plate appearances with the Marauders. In these 53 PAs Johnson owns a .275/.396/.450 slash line and a wRC+ of 139.

While Johnson’s 24.5% strikeout rate is a bit higher than you would like to see, it is by no means a concern. Especially for a hitter as young as Johnson. Additionally, he is drawing walks at an elite 18.9% clip showing a great eye at the plate. Johnson has hit two doubles and his first career home run, with that home run being an inside the park home run.

Johnson has done nothing but impress thus far. The Pittsburgh Pirates could not have asked for a much better start to Johnson’s professional career. He has looked the part of an advanced prep hitter who could climb through the farm system quickly. It would not be a surprise to see the Pirates be aggressive with Johnson and have him start the 2023 season at High-A Greensboro.