8-31-21 – By Justin Verno – @JV_PITT on Twitter
It was a fun week for the Pirates system. A lot of guys had some big games, perhaps no one bigger than former 1st rounder Nick Gonzales, who had a monster game Sunday evening that included three bombs. A few guys look ready for their respective next level and one had a set back. And finally we see a positive sign from one of my personal favorite prospects, Brennan Malone.
There have been no changes to the the order of the top 30 and no one received and FV bump. Now let’s get to it!
1-Henry Davis – 50 FV Set Back, Injury
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week | 286/353/714 | 1.067 | .426 | .429 | 160 | 11.8% | 35.3% |
| Season | 263/375/684 | 1.059 | .421 | .424 | 161 | 16.7% | 33.3% |
2-Quinn Priester – 50 FV ARROW UP
| | IP | ERA | FIP | xFIP | WHIP | BABIP | K% | BB |
| Week | 6 | 0.00 | -0.54 | | .053 | 167 | 68.4% | 0% |
| Season | 85 | 2.86 | 4.06 | 4.06 | 1.15 | 271 | 25.1% | 8.6% |
3 – Roansy Contreras – 50 FV IL
| | IP | ERA | FIP | xFIP | WHIP | BABIP | K% | BB |
| Week – (IL) | | | | | | | | |
| Season | 46 | 2.35 | 2.36 | 2.79 | .91 | 275 | 35.5% | 6% |
4- Liover Peguero – 50 FV ARROW UP
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week | 333/394/667 | 1.061 | .333 | .446 | 175 | 9.1% | 21.2% |
| Season | 266/324/455 | .779 | .189 | .338 | 107 | 7.2% | 25.1% |
5-Miguel Yajure – 50 FV
| | IP | ERA | FIP | xFIP | WHIP | BABIP | K% | BB |
| Week – (IL) | 4.2 | 3.86 | 2.74 | | .86 | .267 | 15.8% | 0% |
| Season | 25.2 | 3.51 | 3.81 | 3.27 | .86 | .242 | 26.3% | 6.1% |
| MLB | 9.1 | 3.86 | 5.21 | 4.51 | .86 | .143 | 23.5% | 8.8% |
6- Oneil Cruz – 50 FV
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week | 273/333/273 | .606 | .000 | .283 | 73 | 8.3% | 25% |
| Season | 290/351/523 | .874 | .233 | .376 | 134 | 8.0% | 23.6% |
7-Tahnaj Thomas – 50 FV ARROW DOWN
| | IP | ERA | FIP | xFIP | WHIP | BABIP | K% | BB |
| Week | 5 | 7.20 | 5.39 | | 1.60 | .350 | 19.0% | 4.8% |
| Season | 56.2 | 4.45 | 5.84 | 5.74 | 1.54 | .283 | 22.8% | 13.5% |
8-Nick Gonzales – 50 FV ARROW UP
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week | 296/345/815 | 1.160 | .519 | .469 | 190 | 6.9% | 17.2% |
| Season | 298/365/544 | .910 | .246 | .389 | 140 | 8.3% | 27.9% |
9-Travis Swaggerty – 50 FV – Out for the year
10-Bubba Chandler – 45 FV
| BA/OPS/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K | |
| Week | |||||||
| Season | 143/294/357 | .651 | .214 | .314 | 80 | 17.6% | 35.3% |
11-Ji-hwan Bae – 45 FV ARROW UP
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week | 471/571/471 | 1.042 | .000 | .478 | 202 | 14.3% | 9.5% |
| Season | 277/352/414 | .766 | .137 | .339 | 110 | 9.7% | 23.1% |
12-Brennan Malone – 45 FV ARROW UP
| | IP | ERA | FIP | xFIP | WHIP | BABIP | K% | BB |
| Week | 2 | 4.50 | 1.08 | 1.00 | .333 | 33.3% | 0% | |
| Season- CPX | 6.1 | 8.53 | 5.50 | 4.14 | 1.29 | .313 | 27.6% | 13.8% |
| Week – A | 3.2 | 0.00 | 7.61 | 9.12 | 2.45 | .333 | 10% | 25% |
13-Hudson Head – 45 FV ARROW HAS NO CLUE WHERE TO POINT
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week- | 300/364/350 | .714 | .050 | .240 | 104 | 0% | 31.8% |
| Season- | 207/362/373 | .735 | .166 | .359 | 109 | 15.9% | 32.2% |
14-Cody Bolton – 45 FV -out for the season
15-Maikol Escotto – 40+ FV
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week- | 262/333/263 | .596 | .000 | .301 | 74 | 9.5% | 38.1% |
| Season- | 245/374/368 | .742 | .123 | .363 | 112 | 16.0% | 31.6% |
16-Anthony Solometo – Nothing Yet
17-Jared Jones – 40+ FV ARROW DOWN
| | IP | ERA | FIP | xFIP | WHIP | BABIP | K% | BB |
| Week | 2.2 | 16.87 | 6.43 | | 3.37 | .545 | 30.0% | 20.0% |
| Season | 55.1 | 4.23 | 3.69 | 3.53 | 1.46 | .398 | 35.1% | 10.8% |
18-Carmen Mlodzinski – 40+ FV
| | IP | ERA | FIP | xFIP | WHIP | BABIP | K% | BB |
| Week | 1.2 | 10.80 | 3.19 | | 3.60 | .625 | 18.2% | 9.1% |
| Season | 46.2 | 3.47 | 4.46 | 3.90 | 1.18 | .286 | 31.3% | 9.4% |
19-Canaan Smith-Njigba – 40+ FV IL
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week – (IL) | | | | | | | |
| Season | .286/.403/.427 | .830 | .141 | 372 | 132 | 16.1% | 25.8% |
20-Lonnie White – 40+ FV
| BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K | |
| Week | |||||||
| Season | 333/333/556 | .889 | .222 | .402 | 132 | 0% | 44.4% |
21-Rodolfo Castro – 40+ FV ARROW DOWN
| BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K | |
| Week | 125/222/313 | .535 | .188 | .240 | 45 | 11.8% | 5.6% |
| Season | 287/340/511 | .851 | .224 | .363 | 125 | 6.5% | 19.0% |
| MLB | 198/258/395 | .653 | .198 | .282 | 76 | 6.5% | 29.0% |
22-Diego Castillo – ARROW UP
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week | 400/471/400 | .871 | .000 | .381 | 137 | 11.8% | 5.9% |
| Season – PIT | 282/342/445 | .787 | .164 | .343 | 112 | 8.3% | 7.4% |
| Season – NYY | 277/345/504 | .850 | .228 | .367 | 128 | 8.4% | 13.7% |
23-Rodolfo Nolasco – 40+ FV
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week | 286/455/571 | 1.026 | .286 | .453 | 161 | 27.3% | 27.3% |
| Season | 252/376/398 | .774 | .146 | .374 | 115 | 15.2% | 31.2% |
24-Jared Oliva – 40+ FV
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week | 286/375/333 | .708 | .o48 | .332 | 100 | 8.3% | 33.3% |
| Season | 250/325/346 | .670 | .096 | .306 | 83 | 7.9% | 28.5% |
| MLB | 175/233/225 | .458 | .050 | .215 | 20 | 7% | 23.3% |
25-Endy Rodriguez – 40+ FV ARROW UP
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week | 444/565/611 | 1.176 | .167 | .548 | 224 | 21.7% | 8.7% |
| Season | 283/375/472 | .848 | .189 | .395 | 131 | 12.3% | 18.5% |
26-Mason Martin – 40+ FV ARROW DOWN
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week | 158/273/211 | .483 | .053 | .237 | 43 | 9.1% | 36.4% |
| Season | 251/328/519 | .847 | .268 | .359 | 123 | 8.5% | 34.8% |
27-Jose Soriano – 40+ FV – Out for the season
28-Luis Oviedo -40+ FV – MLB
29-Cal Mitchel – 40+ FV ARROW UP
| | BA/OBP/SL | OPS | ISO | wOBA | wRC | walk | K |
| Week | 526.550/526 | 1.026 | .000 | .484 | 205 | 4.2% | 16.7% |
| Season | 287/338/451 | .789 | .164 | 343 | 112 | 5.7% | 16.8% |
30-Eddy Yean – 40+ FV ARROW UP
| | IP | ERA | FIP | xFIP | WHIP | BABIP | K% | BB |
| Week | 6 | 0 | 1.97 | | 0.67 | .231 | 33.3% | 4.8% |
| Season | 59 | 5.19 | 5.28 | 4.64 | 1.36 | .257 | 24.1% | 13.6% |
Quick Thoughts
A nice week all in all down on the farm. Eight arrows pointing up, four pointing down, and one that I have no clue what to think.
With Priester, Gonzales and Cruz playing so well, I can see a bump to a 55 FV soon. Priester and Cruz would technically bring the 55 back while Gonzales would be new to that rating.
Who could we be talking about as getting promoted soon? We can start with all three of the above. I think Cal Mitchel could also be in that conversation.
And last but not least, what the heck is going on with Hudson Head? The obvious center piece of the Joe Musgrove trade came with a lot of buzz and is our highlighted prospect of the week. Advanced control of the zone and power that could develop and great contact rate… that’s what we had hoped we were getting. And I can’t say he looks bad, but he certainly hasn’t been the guy we hoped we’d be getting.
Hudson is hitting an anemic .207 and that is not at all what we want to see. However, his OBP is 155 points higher at .362 due to a ridiculous walk rate of 15.9%, which is accompanied by a 32.2% strike out rate. But there’s more! His ISO (.166) and wOBA (.359) are good, or at least above average, but the wRC+ is average at best. Meanwhile, the BABIP is solid enough at .295 and that suggests bad luck with such a big drop in his average.
The good? He has 59 base on balls. The bad? He only has two more hits than walks, with 61.
Good: Power is developing with 25 extra base hits. Bad: He has 61 hits. Did I mention that?
Good: He can play multiple spots in the OF. Bad: Nothing. He’s a solid OF.
I’ll end on a high note for Hudson here by saying he uses the whole field. Here’s where he hits them:
Pull rate-45% Up the middle-22.9% Opposite field-31.4%
In short, I have no clue what to think here. I like the approach and he clearly has control of the zone. I have to think there’s some bad luck involved, as the metrics lean that way for now, but there’s a “but” to that. The 15.9% walk rate… is that due for regression? The law of averages would say it is, but there are some guys that have that eye. However, if that rate takes a dive and some of the metrics don’t bounce the right way, he could see some struggles. He’s young and there’s work to be done here for sure. But hey, that’s why they’re called prospects! See ya in a week.
