Position: 1B/OF
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 205 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Born: 08/16/1992
College: University of San Diego
Drafted: 1st Round, 39th Overall, 2014 (Pirates)
How Acquired: Trade (with Rockies for Nick Garcia)
Bonus: $1,250,000
40-man Roster: Yes
Rule 5 Eligible: N/A
Minor League Free Agency: N/A
Options Left: 2
Overview
The Pirates selected Joe back in 2014 with the 39th overall pick and announced him as an outfielder. He played first base during his first two seasons at the University of San Diego, before moving behind the plate during his junior year. Despite the announcement, the Pirates apparently drafted him with the idea of him catching, but that never went anywhere because he developed back problems literally just days after he was drafted. The Pirates tried him at third, but that went poorly and he eventually settled in as a first baseman and corner outfielder. Statcast sees him as about average at first and below average in the outfield. Scouts have always liked Joe’s swing a great deal, but he never hit very well until after the Pirates traded him. Even when he hasn’t hit the ball with much authority, he’s almost always shown strong plate discipline. When Joe has hit well, it’s mostly come in the high-offense Pacific Coast League and in Coors Field. He’s generally hit LHPs better than RHPs.
2014-17
Joe suffered a back strain before he reported to the Pirates and didn’t take the field until mid-May of the following season. From there, he moved up one level a year. He consistently had good walk and K rates, but didn’t hit the ball with much authority. The back injury may have limited him in 2015, but he slugged .392 in high A in 2016 and .380 in AA with the Pirates in 2017. The Pirates tried him at third for most of the 2016 season and it didn’t work out, so in 2017 he played first and the outfield. The lack of power obviously wasn’t going to play well at those positions. In early August 2017, the Pirates traded Joe to the Braves for Sean Rodriguez. In late September, Atlanta sent him on to the Dodgers for international bonus pool space.
2018-20
With the Dodgers in 2018, Joe started to hit like scouts had anticipated, including good power. Dividing his season between AA and AAA, he put up a .979 OPS in AA and .879 in AAA, with continued good plate discipline. The Dodgers didn’t add him to their 40-man roster, though, and Cincinnati selected him in the December 2018 Rule 5 draft. During spring training 2019, the Reds traded Joe to the Giants, but he lasted just until mid-April there before San Francisco returned him to the Dodgers. Joe continued to hit well in AAA for them. He missed the pandemic season while being treated for testicular cancer, then became a free agent afterward and signed a minor league deal with the Rockies.
2021-22
The Rockies called Joe up in early May 2021 and he was up and down several times between the majors and AAA. He also missed most of September with a hamstring injury. Joe hit very well at both levels, putting up a 1.014 OPS in AAA and hitting 285/379/469 in the majors. The latter line was helped a great deal by Coors; Joe had a 1.035 OPS there and .723 on the road. Joe spent 2022 with Colorado and continued the home/road split, but overall this time he batted just 238/338/359. Joe played first and the outfield corners with the Rockies. In December 2022, Colorado traded Joe to the Pirates.
2023-24
Joe ended up playing semi-regularly for the Pirates in 2023, starting about two-thirds of the team’s games and appearing in four-fifths. He divided his time between first, right and left. A little surprisingly, Statcast saw him as average or slightly above both in the outfield and at first. Like many of his teammates, Joe got off to a huge start, posting a .962 OPS in April. After that, he hit just 237/327/384. Much of the problem was manager Derek Shelton misusing Joe by playing him too much against RHPs — he had a .720 OPS against them and .820 against LHPs — and batting him in the middle of the order, often third or fourth. Joe had severe problems hitting with runners in scoring position, posting just a .578 OPS in those situations. With a runner on third and fewer than two outs, he managed just .431. In late and close situations, just .605. Despite 291 plate appearances batting third, fourth or fifth, and 472 plate appearances overall, Joe had just 42 RBIs on the year. Like a lot of the team’s hitters, Joe often put himself at a disadvantage by taking too many strikes. His called strike percentage of 21.1% was well above the MLB norm of about 16.5%.
In 2024, Joe got off to a fast start. Through May 17 he was hitting 296/364/504 with six home runs. For the rest of the year, he hit an anemic 188/294/288 with three home runs. His strikeout rate after those first seven weeks climbed from 18% to 24%. Joe gradually played less often as the season went along — his total of games played dropped every month, to 12 in September — but he still appeared in 123 games and started 91. He had only a slight platoon split, posting an OPS of .715 against LHPs and .670 against RHPs. Joe started 49 games at first, although he appeared in 79, often entering to pinch hit for Rowdy Tellez. He also started 35 games in right and six in left.
Joe is eligible for arbitration after the season.
Stats
Transactions
June 5, 2014: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1st round, 39th overall pick; signed on June 16.
August 5, 2017: Traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Atlanta Braves for Sean Rodriguez.
September 24, 2017: Traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Los Angeles Dodgers for international bonus pool space.
December 13, 2018: Selected by the Cincinnati Reds from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft.
March 21, 2019: Traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the San Francisco Giants for Jordan Johnson and cash.
April 13, 2019: Returned by the San Francisco Giants to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
November 2, 2020: Became a free agent.
November 20, 2020: Signed as a minor league free agent by the Colorado Rockies.
May 7, 2021: Contract purchased by the Colorado Rockies.
December 18, 2022: Traded by the Colorado Rockies to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Nick Garcia.