Jhonny Severino
One of the Pirates’ returns from the 2023 trade deadline showed a ton of promise this year. Jhonny Severino, who was sent to Pittsburgh in exchange for Carlos Santana, displayed some potential last year for the Pirates’ and Milwaukee Brewers’ Florida Complex League teams. He especially took off this season, both at the FCL and A-Ball.
The infield prospect opened the year at the FCL and went on to bat .291/.373/.545. Severino rarely struck out and had a 15.9% K%. He also drew his fair share of walks with an 11.8% BB%. Severino is known for his power potential, and put it on display by hitting 10 homers in 220 plate appearances while having an isolated slugging percentage of .254. All told, he had a terrific .422 wOBA and 139 wRC+.
Severino’s time at A-Ball resulted in mixed numbers. His first 59 plate appearances saw him turn in a .302/.373/.547 triple-slash, strike out just 20.3% of the time, walk at a 10.2% clip and post a .245 isolated slugging percentage. This culminated in a 157 wRC+. But Severino struggled throughout his final 64 plate appearances with Bradenton, slashing .180/.203/.459 with a .296 wOBA and 78 wRC+. While a .212 batting average on balls in play did not do Severino any favors, his strikeout rate went through the roof to 39.1%, while his walk rate plummeted to a meager 3.1%.
Regardless of his poor end to the season, Severino is only 19, and having a 116 wRC+ overall at Bradenton is promising. He was the 14th-youngest position player to appear in at least 25 games at the A-Ball level. Hopefully, Severino can look more like his Florida Complex League self and continue to build upon what was a very promising 2024 next year.