Can Malcom Nunez force his way into the first base picture in 2024?
Injuries limited first baseman to 67 games at Triple-A in 2023
The Pirates acquired Malcom Nunez in the Jose Quintana trade along with Johan Oviedo. While Oviedo established himself in the major league rotation in 2023, Nunez played the entire year in Triple-A Indianapolis.
Injuries limited him to just 67 non-rehab games with Indianapolis, and the infielder struggled - .237/.314/.357 with a 69 wRC+ and seven home runs.
Before being traded in 2022, Nunez had 17 home runs in 350 plate appearances in one of the more hitter-friendly ballparks in the minors, the Springfield Cardinals. With the high home run output, he had just a 110 wRC+.
After the trade, he didn’t quite hit the same home run pace in his small sample size with Altoona - five home runs in 126 plate appearances would equate to 13 over 350 - but his wRC+ was better overall.
Nunez’s batting line was better all around, including a 13-point jump in his slugging percentage. It was expected for his home run production to take a slight hit based on the change in ballparks, but the overall power numbers improved.
Though he dealt with an injury last year, Triple-A got the better of him, as his walk rate dipped from his career mark. His strikeout rate was the highest he posted at any level he spent extended time at (the only other stop that was higher was the five games he played in Triple-A last year at the end of the season).
Breaking and off-speed pitches got the best of him last year, posting a Swinging Strike rate (SwStr%) of 17.1% and 20% against each, respectively. He handled inside the strike zone well, with an In Zone Contact rate of 82%, but extended out of the zone too often.
Of the 17 hitters in the system that faced at least 800 tracked pitches on Prospects Live, only Shalin Polanco and Javier Rivas had a higher chase rate than Nunez’s 33.1%.
Nunez is still young at 22 and will turn 23 before the start of the 2024 season. He’s struggled in Triple-A, with an OPS over 100 points lower than what he’s put up in Double-A in his career.
He has above-average power and has shown the ability to be patient at the plate previously - Nunez has a career minor league walk rate of 10.7% - but he has become more of a free-swinger in Triple-A.
Since acquiring him, the Pirates have signed veteran free agent first baseman to one-year deals twice, so the hope could be to have Nunez eventually take on that role. Still, he’ll have to master Triple-A before getting that opportunity.
They’ve also left him unprotected in the last two Rule 5 drafts.
Nunez put up a reverse split platoon number but historically has hitten lefties far better than righties, which could give in 2023 but give him an option to share time with Rowdy Tellez at some point in 2024.
First-base profiles are rough because the value comes entirely from the bat, so it’s hard to roster them - especially if they aren’t doing the one thing well. The metrics show that his lighting up Springfield wasn’t completely the ballpark, he’ll have to make more contact to get out of Indianapolis and into the majors.
Funny, Jim Callis predicts Skenes will be promoted before the end of May and win ROY. You’d think Callis would know Skenes was drafted by the Pirates.
My preferred long-term solution for 1st would be to try and trade for Sam Basallo with Baltimore. He might be a year or two away but is around Termarr's timeline. He's blocked at catcher. I really like his swing, effortless power with what looks like a great hit tool.
If we could get him for a Jones or Priester and a lower ranked prospect, I'd scrape the catching and slot him in at 1st or make catching his second position.