Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Three Late Round Picks Off to Strong Starts

Many of the Pittsburgh Pirates top prospects are performing well, but here are some late round picks who are doing well

Plenty of Pittsburgh Pirates fans are following the likes of Henry Davis, Termarr Johnson, Bubba Chandler, Anthony Solometo, and Jared Jones. They're just a few of the Pirates' many talented prospects. One thing all these players have in common is they were early-round draft picks. The latest pick among that group is Chandler, who was selected in the 3rd round, but was a first-round talent.

While most of those players are performing well, plenty of other prospects are posting good numbers and weren't selected early on in their respective drafts. They might not be the Pirates' best prospects, but they're still delivering the minor league affiliate they are stationed at decent offensive numbers, at least right now. Today, I want to look at three of the organization's best-performing late-round selections.

There are a few things to note before we start. There will be no undrafted free agents here, only guys who were selected, so don't expect to see Nick Dombkowski, even though he is doing decent. The second thing is only guys the Pirates have drafted in the amateur draft. The third thing is that anything after the tenth round is fair game.

Jase Bowen

Jase Bowen was selected in the 11th round of the 2019 draft. A high school draftee, Bowen did little in 2021, his first extended look against professional opponents. He did have 14 home runs and 16 stolen bases, showing some power and speed, but he still ended the season with an OPS of just .693. The following season, Bowen improved to a .256/.325/.444 line, 111 wRC+, 17 home runs, and 25 stolen bases.

Bowen, who ended the 2022 season poorly with Greenboro, returned to the affiliate to start the year. So far, it looks like the utility prospect has started to turn things around, batting .274/.355/.526 with a .392 wOBA and 130 wRC+. Once again, he is hitting for power and showing off his speed with a .253 isolated slugging percentage and five stolen bases in 23 games and 103 plate appearances.

Overall, it's been a very solid start to 2023, but there are some red flags. The first is his 29% strikeout rate. Bowen has always been a high strikeout batter, and he's only gotten worse this year. Last year his strikeout rate came in at 27.6%. His walk rate has increased from 8.2% to 9.3%, however, so at least there's that. Bowen is also rocking a .345 batting average on balls in play.

Now, granted, Bowen has shown he's a BAbip merchant. Last year, he had a .350 BAbip at Bradenton before getting promoted to Greensboro. A high batting average on balls in play isn't atypical for him, which is something you have to take into account when examining BAbip. Plus, he has a 31.3% line drive rate, which has only fueled this number in a small sample size.

A lot of the value Bowen brings is in his versatility. Bowen can play both corner infield positions, second base, and all outfield positions. He can basically play wherever he's asked to. Combined with his power and speed, Bowen is certainly one of the more interesting players in the system.

There are still real concerns about Bowen's long-term ability to hit. A 30.1% striekout rate is a tad worrying. Combined with his high BAbip (even if he is a BAbip merchant), there's reason to be skeptical. However, if Bowen can prevent the strikeouts from overwhelming him, he could be a solid future utility man who can provide a dozen home runs and stolen bases.

Aaron Shackelford

Most college picks come out of the NCAA, but Aaron Shackelford is one of the few occasional picks to come out of the NAIA. Even though he was coming out of a small school, you still can't help but raise an eyebrow when you look at his college numbers. Shackelford hit 36 home runs in fewer than 250 plate appearances with a .415 batting average and a slugging percentage over 1.000 throughout his last college season.

The infielder was the Bucs' 14th-round pick back in 2019. Last season, Shackelford posted some respectable numbers. He spent most of his time at Altoona, where he batted .239/.315/.499 with a .351 wOBA and 117 wRC+. Although Shackelford struck out 28.9% of the time, he had an above-average 9% walk rate, hit 26 home runs in 443 plate appearances, and had a .259 isolated slugging percentage.

Shackelford spent the last week of the '22 season at Triple-A Indy, where he is once again. The slugger's numbers so far are very impressive. It's only been 97 plate appearances, but he is batting .303/.443/.526 with a .431 wOBA and 150 wRC+. While his 25.8% strikeout rate is still a tad high, it is an improvement of 3.1% compared to his time at Altoona. He's still hitting for decent power with a .224 isolated slugging percentage and is walking at a whopping 18.6% rate.

Now like with Bowen, be a little skeptical of his numbers. Shackelford has a .408 batting average on balls in play. Unlike Bowen, he isn't a BAbip merchant. His BAbip in 2021-2022 was just .265, and his career mark is .291. Even though his strikeout rate has improved, he is still below average altogether.

Shackelford has spent most of his time at second base this year. However, first base is the position he has the most innings logged at throughout his entire career. Third base is a third position he's seen a handful of games at. He even took up right field a couple of times last season for the Curve.

I definitely think that Shackelford would be a better option on the Pirates' bench over Miguel Andujar, despite some red flags. He has versatility and power potential on his side. His strikeouts and BABIP are a tad worrying, but he has improved the former this year. There's definitely a chance this is the next guy the Pirates call upon if Andujar doesn't start putting something together. He's definitely made his case so far this year.