Omar Alfonzo
Omar Alfonzo played his first full minor league season in 2024. The catcher/first base prospect spent most of his previous seasons in the Florida Complex League, appearing in 52 games for Bradenton in 2023, but 2024 was his first season appearing in at least 100 games with more than 300 plate appearances. What he showed off was very promising.
Alfonzo spent most of the season at Bradenton, where he hit .247/.353/.388 with a .356 wOBA and 115 wRC+ in 354 plate appearances. He only had five homers and a .135 isolated slugging percentage and struck out 26% of the time, but he walked in 12.7% of his plate appearances and had some above-average numbers under the hood. Alfonzo’s whiff rate of 26.3% and his barrel percentage of 5.2% were both slightly better than average, but he displayed a ton of raw power. His 92.8 MPH exit velocity was the best among all players at A-Ball, with at least 250 plate appearances, by a mile. The next closest was Miami Marlins’ minor-leaguer Ryan Ignoffo at 90.1 MPH.
Alfonzo’s solid numbers at Bradenton earned him a late-season promotion to Greensboro. He only received 97 plate appearances before the season ended, but he did well in the small sample size, batting .247/.371/.457. He hit five home runs with a .210 isolated slugging percentage, and while he kept up a 25.8% K%, he also walked 16.5% of the time.
Baseball America ranked Alfonzo as the Pirates’ 18th-best prospect in their Prospect Handbook. MLB Pipeline has him as the Pirates’ 24th-best prospect. Both praise his patience at the plate, and both project him to have an average hit tool. With his raw power, he could hit for a fair amount of pop as well. BA also notes he improved his launch angle and saw his fly ball rate rise above 30% at Greensboro. Defensively, Alfonzo has a strong arm that will play behind the dish. He’s improved his receiving skills, and is praised for his internal work with pitchers.
Alfonzo’s raw power could make him a potential 20-homer catcher. If he continues to improve behind the dish, he’ll grade out solidly there, too. Alfonzo was able to reach High-A in just his age-20 season. He won’t turn 22 until early August. There’s a very good chance he reaches Double-A before the end of the ‘25 season, especially if he continues to hit like he did late last season for Greensboro.