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Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects Who Could Be Lost in the Rule 5 Draft

By Marty Leap

BOSTON, MA - JUNE 12: Ben Cherington, general manager of the Boston Red Sox, leaves the field before a game with the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park on June 12, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JUNE 12: Ben Cherington, general manager of the Boston Red Sox, leaves the field before a game with the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park on June 12, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 26: Roansy Contreras #59 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches to Kyle Farmer #17 of the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning during the game at PNC Park on September 26, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 26: Roansy Contreras #59 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches to Kyle Farmer #17 of the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning during the game at PNC Park on September 26, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Outfielder Matt Gorski

Few prospects across baseball were turning heads quite like Matt Gorski during the first few months of the 2022 season. Though the first three months of the season Gorksi hit for a .294/.375/.664 slash line in 270 PAs between the High-A and Double-A levels.

In these 270 PAs Gorski drew walks at an 11.1% rate, while hitting 23 home runs, which led all minor league hitters at the time, to go with a ridiculous .370 ISO. One issues, however, was his strikeout rate which sat at a very high 28.1%.

Well, after June 29th Gorski would not play again until August 30th due to injury. Following his return from injury, Gorski hit for just a .216/.273/.294 slash line. His ISO plummeted to .078, his walk rate to 5.5%, and his strikeout rate rose to 30.9%. While it was very limited, he did, however, make his Triple-A debut.

Obviously, a hitter with this type of power potential is going to intrigue other organizations. This is why he was a player that we had projected the Pittsburgh Pirates would protect from the Rule 5 Draft.

One thing that prevent the Pirates from losing Gorski are injury concerns. He missed a big chunk of 2022 with a shoulder issue, and was only able to accumulate two PAs at Triple-A after he returned before injuries ended his season. Those injury concerns may prevent a team from drafting Gorksi. Hell, those injury concerns may be something that worry the Pirates also and played a role in them leaving Gorski exposed.

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