Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: All Underrated 2023 Lineup

Catcher - Samuel Escudero

The Pittsburgh Pirates have added a handful of notable young catchers during this rebuild. Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis are the big ones, but you also have Abrahan Gutierrez and Carter Bins as other mid-tier backstop prospects in the system. Even someone like Axiel Plaz stands out over Samuel Escudero.

Escudero was part of a mostly unheard of trade that sent Troy Stokes Jr. to the Milwaukee Brewers. After a poor showing in 2022, Escuerdo turned in a nice 2022 campaign at the Pirates' Dominican Summer League affiliate. It was a small 94 plate appearance sample size, but he hit .284/.419/.351 with a .397 wOBA, and 128 wRC+. Escudero walked 16 times and struck out in just 14 of his plate appearances.

The downside is he hasn't hit for much power, at least not yet. He did have five doubles in 2022 but has yet to hit a home run as a professional. But he has shown decent bat speed in the little video there is of the young backstop. Plus, at just 18 years old (he will turn 19 in February), he has plenty of time to add some strength. It's worth noting that there's very little information on the web about Escudero, at least using resources any reasonable fan would have access to (maybe that makes him all the more under the radar).

Escudero will likely be a member of the Pirates' Florida Complex League affiliate next season, though he could debut at Bradenton. He's still extremely young and made his professional debut at just 17. He's certainly yet to be talked about among the Pirates' better teenage prospects, like many of their recent international signees have been.