Position: 1B/3B
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 250 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Born: 08/02/2002
Country: Dominican Republic
How Acquired: International Free Agent, 2018
Bonus: $350,000
40-man Roster: No
Rule 5 Eligible: Yes
Minor League Free Agency: 2025
Options Left: 3
Overview
The Pirates signed Mojica a month after the 2018-19 signing period began, as he was too young to sign on July 2. In the DSL, he showed tremendous potential as a power hitter with a very good eye, but his bat just hasn’t developed since then. Mojica’s hands and arm are good, but his conditioning has always been a very limiting factor on defense. Originally a third baseman, he’s gradually shifted to first.
2019-21
In his 2019 debut, Mojica dominated the DSL as one of the youngest players in the league. He finished first in OPS (1.048), second in slugging and fourth in OBP. He also walked more than he struck out.
After the lost 2020 season, the Pirates moved Mojica up to Bradenton for the 2021. His hitting was disappointing, although you have to take into account the fact that he played most of the season at age 18. Like a number of hitters on the team, he took a lot of pitches and may have gotten into too many two-strike counts. He didn’t make much hard contact. For some reason, he had a huge reverse platoon split, posting a .704 OPS against RHPs and .483 against LHPs. He also had a big home/road split, with only a .567 OPS on the road. In the field, he started only 45 games at third and showed limited range, especially coming in on bunts or slow grounders.
2022-23
Things didn’t get better in subsequent seasons. The Pirates sent Mojica back to Bradenton in 2022 and he hit considerably worse. He still drew a lot of walks, but his K rate, already bad, climbed to one every three plate appearances and hit just .167. In early June the Pirates demoted Mojica to the FCL. In his first game he hit two home runs. In ten games after that he went 3-for-28. He ultimately spent most of his time after the demotion on the development list. Back at Bradenton again in 2023, Mojica improved to a 219/338/388, but strikeouts remained a problem. He had a good month of June, but after he went 2-for-20 in the first half of July, the Pirates put him on the development list and he didn’t play again.
Stats
Transactions
August 2, 2018: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent.