Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects 2022 Recap: Catcher Carter Bins

Catching prospect Carter Bins had a poor 2022 season putting his future with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization up in the air

Upon his arrival as general manager, did not take Ben Cherington long to begin to address the catcher position within the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system. Through drafting Henry Davis no. 1 overall in the 2021 MLB Draft and adding three other catching prospects via trade, Cherington targeted the position of weakness and attacked it.

One of the catching prospects that Cherington has traded for since arriving in Pittsburgh is Carter Bins. Bins was acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for left-handed starting pitcher Tyler Anderson ahead of the 2021 trade deadline.

Bins came to the Pittsburgh Pirates as a catcher that appeared to have some pretty large bust potential. There were questions about his defense, as well as his issues with the swing-and-miss. Since arriving in the Pirate organization, these issues have continued to plague Bins.

During the 2022 season Bins started with Double-A Altoona. Despite hitting for a woeful .130/.216/.283 slash line with a wRC+ of 36, Bins was promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis after 51 plate appearances and 14 games with the Curve.

Bins was better with Indianapolis, but still struggled. In 71 games and 279 PAs with the Indians he hit for a .208/.297/.408 slash line and an 85 wRC+. Across the two levels he drew walks at just an 8.8% clip while striking out at an alarming 36.7% rate.

Entering the offseason Bins finds himself as being Rule 5 Draft eligible. It is very difficult to envision the Pirate adding Bins to the 40-man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, which will make him available to the other 29 MLB teams.

Without huge offensive improvements Bins will struggle to ever carve out a role as a major league catcher. This will be especially true if he continues to strike out at the concerning rate that has always plagued him throughout his professional career.

Even though Bins will almost assuredly be left unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft, the odds of him being selected would appear to be low. He should be invited to MLB camp when Spring Training rolls around. Bins should likely start the 2023 season back at the Triple-A level in what will be a vital season for the now 24-year-old.