Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects Who Have Rebounded in 2023

These Pirates prospects have comeback strong after a poor 2022 season.
St Louis Cardinals v Pittsburgh Pirates
St Louis Cardinals v Pittsburgh Pirates / Justin K. Aller/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next

Outfielder Lonnie White Jr.

Our second prospect of the day, Lonnie White Jr., didn’t rebound because of any performance questions. He was a pretty decent hitter in 2021-2022, slashing .263/.300/.579 with a 123 wRC+. But the thing is, that was in just 40 plate appearances. White Jr. had missed pretty much all of 2022 with a UCL injury. He only managed to play in two contests. But that injury hasn’t seemed to slow him down in the slightest in 2023.

After an outstanding showing at the Pirates’ Florida Complex League affiliate, White Jr. was promoted to Bradenton where he’s batted .262/.403/.496 with a .420 wOBA, and 145 wRC+ in 176 PAs. White Jr. has been a power/speed threat. He’s blasted seven balls out of the park while swiping ten bags. In a 600 plate appearance/150 game season, White Jr. is on pace for 24 home runs and 38 stolen bases. He’s also drawn a ton of walks with a 16.5% walk rate. However, the big downside to his season has been his 28.4% K-rate. There are some legitimate concerns about his hit tool. But at just 20 years of age, there’s plenty of time for White to improve the weakest part of his game.