Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: 2022 Minor League Statistical Leaders

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Pittsburgh Pirates
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) /

wRC+, wOBA, OPS, OBP
Endy Rodriguez

Endy Rodriguez led all Pittsburgh Pirates minor leaguers in nearly every single meaningful statistical category. We’ll first start with wRC+, or weighted runs created plus. This puts his wOBA (weighted on-base average) on a scale of 100, where 100 is the league average. 101 is 1% better than league, 99 is 1% worse than league average, and so on. With a 166 wRC+, Rodriguez outdid Matt Gorski by 13%. Rodriguez had a 222 wRC+ from the All-Star break to the end of the minor league season (122% better than the league average).

Then you have his wOBA or weighted on-base average, or wOBA. This gives every hit a specific weight, along with walks and hit by pitches. For reference, it’s on the same scale as on-base percentage. Rodriguez clocked in with a .434 wOBA, which was by far the best among all Pirates minor leaguers, with Matt Gorksi in second place behind Rodriguez at .411.

Although Rodriguez didn’t lead the Pirates in slugging percentage, he ranked second behind Gorski by just eight points. However, his on-base percentage was 25 points better than Nick Gonzales, which gave him the lead by a wide margin. With his elite OBP and SLG, Rodriguez led the Pirates in OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage).

Endy had one of the most exciting minor league seasons a Pirate prospect has had in a while. Going into his age-23 season next year, he’ll be knocking on the major league doorstep. He reached Triple-A this year and collected ten hits in just 23 plate appearances, including two doubles, a triple, and a home run.