FCL Pirates 2023 Recap: Top Hitters

A look back at some of the notable hitters from the 2023 FCL Pirates team.

Photo Credit: WTM

Just a quick glance at the final standings, and it’s hard to argue that the Pirates’ Florida Complex League team didn’t have a strong season. They finished first in the FCL South Division, tied for the second most wins overall and had the best run differential by six.

For as good as the season went by giving it a quick glance, it was actually going better as the team entered the final stretch of the season.

The FCL team entered the month of August with a record of 28-11, but won just four of the 16 games they played, finishing 32-23.

They reached the semi-finals but lost to the Yankees despite a late game comeback attempt.

One of the reasons that the team hit a wall like they did, at least partially, was the loss of Yordany De Los Santos and Lonnie White Jr. to Bradenton, although they were both promoted in early July.

Even with the loss of those two, they still had plenty of players to stand out this season, here are three hitters who played well this year in the Complex League (part two will cover pitchers).

Miguel Sosa

The Pirates actually have a couple of interesting prospects here, that have some power potential. It doesn’t always show in the Complex League, but it’s there.

One of the many listed as a catcher on the roster, Miguel Sosa is mainly an outfielder at this point, and among those with regular playing time in the FCL finished with the best wRC+ with a 154 mark.

In 103 plate appearances, Sosa slashed .275/.495/.406 with two home runs, nine RBI, while scoring 23 runs of his own. His near 30% (29.3%) walk rate played a huge part in him reaching base right at 50% of the times he came to the plate.

Eddy Rodriguez

You can make an argument that outside of YDLS and White, Rodriguez was the best hitter on the team this season in the Complex. His strikeout rate was under 20%, walk rate over 10%, and hit four home runs while slugging .442 - all in 159 plate appearances.

John Dreker had this update on Rodriguez back in July, which at the time of the write up, he had just one home run - so he picked up the final three in just 25 games he played.

In total, Rodriguez picked up 11 total extra-bases, mixing in seven doubles as well, and his 24 RBI was third on the team.

Esmerlyn Valdez

A quick scan through the potential players that could make the jump to Bradenton next year, while many may not be well known at first, there’s a lot of intrigue.

Valdez is probably a little more well known than the rest, and if anyone made a case for a late season call up to Single-A, it was probably him, despite missing some time to an injury.

The 19-year-old led the Complex team in home runs, RBI, and batting average (among qualified hitters). Those same categories Valdez also ranked in the top 10 among all FCL hitters.

He slashed .312/.377/.518 with 16 extra-base hits, 15 walks and a wRC+ of 129.

The FCL team had no shortage of hitters, which was evident by them scoring the second highest runs in the league. Javier Rivas, Jeral Toledo are among others who put up strong seasons this year, and will be names to watch who may make the jump to full season ball in 2024.

Part two will feature pitchers in the FCL this year.