Hitting leaderboards through May: FCL has entered the chat

A look at the best performing hitters in the Pirates' system through the month of May

Photo Credit: WTM

While the attention is generally shifted toward the pitching in the Pirates’ system, we are starting to see more hitters emerge as the season continues.

That became even more the case when the Florida Complex League started, as the Pirates team there easily has the best offense there.

The Greensboro Grasshoppers are also on a roll offensively, which is no surprise considering their hitter-friendly ballpark and league.

Both teams are heavily represented among the five offensive categories we will cover. Based on FanGraphs, the Pirates have 35 qualified hitters through plate appearances, and the leaderboards are based on that.

wRC+

1. Yordany De Los Santos - FCL - 178

2. Charles McAdoo - GBO - 165

3. Jhonny Severino - FCL - 154

4. Richard Ramirez - FCL - 140

5. Seth Beer - ALT - 137

6. Hudson Head - GBO - 133

7. Sammy Siani - GBO/ALT - 130

8. Omar Alfonzo - BRD - 129

9. Jake Lamb - IND - 129

10. Jack Brannigan - GBO - 119

We immediately see how well the Florida Complex team is doing, with three of the top four players in the system when it comes to wRC+ playing there.

Yordany De Los Santos and Jhonny Severino are in their second run in the Complex League, and it shows. They have easily been two of the best players on the field daily.

Richard Ramirez is stateside for the first time, and while the strikeouts have been on the higher side, he’s making an impact with the bat.

Still, in High-A, Charles McAdoo is arguably the best-performing hitter in any of the full-season affiliates. His name will appear in all five categories we are going to cover.

Sammy Siani was promoted to Altoona, and although he hasn’t gotten off to the best of starts, there’s still some intrigue to watch how he adjusts.

Home Runs

1. Matt Gorski - IND - 10

2. Hudson Head - GBO - 7

3. Lonnie White Jr. - GBO - 7

4. Jack Brannigan - GBO - 7

5. Malcom Nunez - IND - 6

6. Charles McAdoo - GBO - 6

7. Sammy Siani - GBO/ALT - 5

8. Tsung-Che Chang - ALT - 5

9. Shalin Polanco - BRD - 5

10. Esmerlyn Valdez - BRD - 5

Five of the top seven leaders in home runs have played either all, or most, of the season in Greensboro. Matt Gorski did the majority of his damage in May, as he hit just one home run in the first month of the season.

Lonnie White Jr. has struggled to put the ball in play, but we see the authority that he does do so when it is. The biggest surprise here would probably be Tsung-Che Chang, not exactly known for his power, but has still hit five so far on the season.

RBI

1. Matt Gorski - IND - 38

2. Charles McAdoo - GBO - 37

3. Liover Peguero - IND - 31

4. Jake Lamb - IND - 27

5. Malcom Nunez - IND - 24

6. Sammy Siani - GBO/ALT - 22

7. Shalin Polanco - BRD - 22

8. Esmerlyn Valdez - BRD - 22

9. Hudson Head - GBO - 21

10. Tsung-Che Cheng - ALT - 21

11. Lonnie White Jr. - GBO - 21

Again, most of the damage by Gorski was done this past month, as 28 of the 28 runs he has driven in came during May. Quite a few names from the Indianapolis squad, but with their season starting a week prior, it’s not out of the question they would pile up on the counting stats.

The Bradenton Marauders have had Shalin Polanco and Esmerlyn Valdez has their consistent middle-of-the-order hitters, despite the former really struggling for the majority of the season. They are tied in home runs and RBI this year.

Stolen Bases

1. Yordany De Los Santos - FCL - 13

2. Charles McAdoo - GBO - 10

3. Jack Brannigan - GBO - 9

4. Mitch Jebb - GBO - 9

5. Tsung-Che Cheng - ALT - 8

6. Gilberto Celestino - IND - 7

7. Jase Bowen - ALT - 7

8. Jhonny Severino - FCL - 6

9. Termarr Johnson - GBO - 6

10. Liover Peguero - IND - 5

11. Lonnie White Jr. - GBO - 5

Juan Machado has only played a handful of games but would be right smack in the middle of this list if it was open to everyone.

De Los Santos and the FCL squad have been running like crazy lately, he even picked up four in a single game earlier in the month.

Not only has Greensboro hit for power, some of them have been extremely active on the basepaths. The players on this list account for 39 of the 58 team steals on the High-A roster.

Swinging Strike% (SwStr%)

1. Tres Gonzalez - ALT - 8.5%

2. Sammy Siani - GBO/ALT - 9%

3. Omar Alfonzo - BRD - 9.1%

4. Charles McAdoo - GBO - 9.3%

5. Malcom Nunez - IND - 10.1%

6. Jake Lamb - IND - 10.8%

7. Jack Brannigan - GBO - 10.8%

8. Canaan Smith-Njigba - IND - 11.5%

9. Seth Beer - ALT - 11.6%

10. Mitch Jebb - GBO - 11.6%

There is a noticeable trend now in the system, it seems more and more players are potentially selling out for more power right now. If that isn’t actually the case it just means that more players are swinging and missing more this season than last year.

There are some players who are making contact (Abrahan Gutierrez) but out with injuries, and the FCL swing and miss data is inaccurate, so it’s unreliable to use.

Swing and miss was a big issue for Brannigan last year, but he’s improved on that. While it’s not the same elite rate it was last year, Jebb is on the right side you want to be.

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