Pirates' 2023 Minor League Recaps: Greensboro Grasshoppers
Some high-end performers passed through
Like Bradenton, Greensboro had a lot of turnover. The Hoppers started the season with a bunch of players repeating the level, which is never a good sign. In the end, though, a number of players made their marks. In this case, pitchers were more of a key presence than at Bradenton.
In the end, the Hoppers went 68-61. They led the league in runs by a comfortable margin. They were second in OPS and home runs. (Along with Bowling Green, which also plays in a home run park, the Hoppers finished well ahead of everybody else in longballs.) They had the second-most walks and finished around the middle in strikeouts. With all the repeaters, Greensboro had the league’s oldest hitters. For the most part, though, the older hitters who drove up the weighted average age were not among the team’s key hitters, prospect- or performance-wise.
The pitchers finished ninth in the 12-team league in ERA. They were the league’s second-youngest, a little over half a year below the average. They had the fourth-highest BB/9 and the fifth-lowest K/9. They allowed gopher balls at the fifth-highest rate, nowhere near the highest, which given the ballpark is a positive.
HITTERS
The Top Guy
Termarr Johnson, 2B: Johnson hit about the same for the Hoppers as he did for the Marauders. To repeat, for some reason he’s morphed from a super-hit-tool guy to a three-true-outcomes guy. He did lower his K rate a bit — 26.7% to 24.2% — with almost the exact same walk rate — 21.8% to 22%. It’s of course important to keep in mind that Johnson won’t turn 20 until the middle of next season. After playing a handful of games at short with Bradenton, Johnson played only second at Greensboro.
Breakouts?
Tsung-Che Cheng, SS: Cheng relies on exceptional baseball skills to overcome a lack of size (5’7”). He was a very solid performer in the low minors, but he had a spectacular first half with the Hoppers, even showing surprising power, including nine home runs. He hit 308/406/575, with a very good BB:K ratio of 35:47. He also had just three errors in 58 games, divided almost equally between second and short. Altoona was more of a challenge, but more on that later.
Jack Brannigan, 3B: Another guy whom the Pirates announced as a two-way player, Brannigan’s never taken the mound as a pro. He’s looking like Triolo II in some ways, as a plus defender at third who looks quite playable at short and second. His hitting was a question mark, but he got going after returning from an early season injury with Bradenton. After moving up, he hit 299/382/605. One possible red flag is a 21:58 BB:K and 33.5% K rate. Another is history; we’ve seen college hitters get to Greensboro, tear the place up, then more or less stop developing when they reach AA. Matt Fraizer and Matt Gorski are examples.
Jase Bowen, IF/OF: Bowen’s had a pattern of needing time to adjust to new levels. He repeated low A last year, made a lot of progress with Bradenton, then had a tough final month at Greensboro. He went back to Greensboro this year and had a 20-20 seaosn, batting 258/333/469, with 23 home runs and 24 steals in 29 tries. He tends to sell out for power, but his K rate — 24.5% — wasn’t alarming by current standards. His walk rate of 7.1% was low. Another caveat was a big home/road split, including 14 of his longballs coming in Greensboro. He’s played all three outfield positions, plus second and first; he’s solid in center and at second. Bowen got a late-season promotion and did OK in eight games at Altoona. He just turned 23.
Jackson Glenn, IF: According to Baseball America, Glenn was one of the top college seniors available in 2021. He looked very good with Bradenton in 28 games in his draft year, then had a very rough year last year for the Hoppers. He went back to Greensboro this year and hit 299/380/475 with a good BB:K ratio. He got a promotion after 38 games. Glenn is primarily a third baseman, but he got time at second with Altoona. He’ll be 26 in a few weeks.
Moving Up From Bradenton
Tres Gonzalez, OF: Gonzalez is a hit-tool outfielder, drafted out of the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2022, who for some reason was sent back to Bradenton after batting .325 in 24 games there last year. He moved up after 19 games and batted 287/401/402, with a BB:K of 65:84. This pretty well sums it up: He’s going to control the strike zone, put the bat on the ball, and not hit for much power. He runs well and can play all three outfield positions.
Josiah Sightler, 1B: Sightler was drafted in round 15 as a college senior last year, but was hurt and didn’t surface until mid-season this year. He put up comically good numbers — 1.453 OPS — at Bradenton, then moved up after 18 games. Greensboro was a different story. He hit 232/293/387 in 36 games, and his K rate more than doubled. He’ll be 24 in October.
Nick Cimillo, C/1B: Also a 2022 draftee, Cimillo was Bradenton’s best hitter for a while last year. He was promoted late and got into only 19 games for the Hoppers, batting .149. Drafted as a catcher, he seems to be almost entirely a 1B/DH guy now. He’ll be 24 in February.
Not Moving Up From Greensboro
Hudson Head, OF: Remember when Head was supposed to be the top player acquired for Joe Musgrove? He got sent back to Greensboro this year, although he ended up missing almost two-thirds of the season due to injury. When he played, he hit about like he did last year, with a 237/309/396 line.
Maikol Escotto, SS: Remember when Escotto was supposed to be the highest-ceiling guy acquired for Jameson Taillon? Last year he hit .164 with the Hoppers and got demoted. This year, he stayed in Greensboro but batted only 213/272/347.
Sammy Siani, OF: The 37th overall pick back in 2019, Siani was supposed to be a hit-tool guy, but he got launch-angle obsessed. He waits for something to drive and tries to hit everything in the air and to pull everything. The result has been a ton of strikeouts and not that much power. He had a big winter in Australia, but it didn’t carry over. His season with the Hoppers was better than last year’s, but he still hit only 231/337/364.
Bench Production
Luke Brown, OF: Drafted out of Louisville the same year as teammate Henry Davis, Brown is a speedy outfielder with a suspect bat. He never hit a home run in college and hit very little his first two and a half years with the Pirates. This year, he had a huge second half, including a lot of power, and finished at 270/363/471. It wasn’t the home park, either.
Shawn Ross, IF/C: The Pirates signed Ross out of independent ball and he was a utility infielder with the Hoppers for most of this year. He drew a lot of walks and hit for a lot of power, batting 203/324/467, but he had a K rate of 40.7%. Late in the season he started catching, which adds some interest. He had a lot of passed balls, but he threw out 39% of base stealers. He’s 24, but this was his debut in affiliated baseball.
Brenden Dixon, IF: A 20th round pick in 2021, Dixon was ostensibly a shortstop, but he’s fit best as a corner utility guy. He has some power, with a lot of swing and miss. This was easily his best season, as he hit 219/344/437.
Eli Wilson, C: Wilson’s always seemed like a solid player, but he keeps getting stuck behind other prospects. He got into 37 games with the Hoppers this year and 18 with Altoona. In Greensboro, he hit 230/353/416 and threw out 30%. I’ve never understood why he doesn’t play more.
Some Veterans
Will Matthiessen, 1B/OF: The 6’6” Matthiessen has a ton of raw power, but also swings and misses a ton. It all averaged out to decent numbers for the Hoppers in 2021 and he was supposed to be at Altoona last year, but he missed nearly the whole season with a shoulder injury. This year, the Pirates sent him back to Greensboro and he hit 245/328/445, which is almost exactly what he hit two years ago. He got a late promotion to Altoona and didn’t hit at all.
Mike Jarvis, IF: Jarvis is primarily a middle infielder who was drafted as a college senior in 2021. He spent about a third of his time with the Hoppers last year, the rest with Bradenton. He looks to hit for power and had ten home runs with the Hoppers this year without a terrible K rate. All but one of the longballs came at home and he had a H/R split of over 300 OPS points. Jarvis finished the season with Altoona.
Wyatt Hendrie, C: Hendrie’s a solid defensive catcher who hasn’t hit quite enough. The Pirates sent him back to Bradenton this year, but he got an early promotion. He hit 211/312/353 for the Hoppers.
PITCHERS
The Top Guys
Anthony Solometo, LHP: Solometo shot up prospect lists with a big first half in Greensboro. In a dozen starts, the numbers were all outstanding: 2.30 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 3.8 BB/9, 10.4 K/9. Maybe most impressive was just two home runs allowed in 58.2 IP, despite Gopher Central being his home park. He spent the second half of the season in AA, pitching the whole season at age 20.
Bubba Chandler, RHP: When the Pirates paid Chandler an overslot $3M to sign as a third rounder, two noteworthy points about him were, first, the team said it’d develop him as a two-way player and, second, it was widely expected that his command would be something of a project. The Pirates decided to keep Chandler strictly on the mound this year and the “project” part dominated for the first half of the season. In his first 16 starts, Chandler had an ERA of 5.85 and BB/9 of 4.7. In his last nine starts for the Hoppers, he had an ERA of 1.85 (and over half the earned runs he allowed came in one start) and BB/9 of 2.7. Then he finished his season with five shutout innings for Altoona, allowing one hit and no walks, and fanning eight. And he didn’t turn 20 until just after the season.
A Breakout?
Braxton Ashcraft, RHP: Thanks to Tommy John surgery in 2021, the first five years of Ashcraft’s career produced only a little over 100 IP. This year, after a layoff of almost two years, he showed up with a fastball averaging 95 mph and far better command than you usually see following the surgery. He was on a very strict pitch count, so he totaled only 52.2 IP in 19 starts. He threw six and a third scoreless innings for Bradenton, with one walk and 11 strikeouts. In nine starts for the Hoppers, he had an ERA of 3.74, with a 1.7 BB/9 and 9.9 K/9. Then he got even better at Altoona.
Solid Starters
Thomas Harrington, RHP: The 36th overall pick in the 2022 draft, Harrington is a finesse pitcher who relies on location, moving the ball around the strike zone and throwing at least four different pitches. He pitched well in eight starts for Bradenton, then made 18 for Greensboro. He posted a 3.87 ERA for the Hoppers, but he got hit harder than you’d like to see for such an early pick at that level. Opponents had a .727 OPS against him, which was a few points higher than the league average. It wasn’t the home park, as he pitched much better there than on the road. Harrington did have good walk and K rates, at 3.0 BB/9 and 10.8 K/9.
Po-Yu Chen, RHP: Chen was in the Hoppers’ rotation all year, making 24 starts. He had almost exactly the same season as he did for Bradenton in 2022, which is to say, not great: 4.44 ERA and 272/343/493. He was a little better at home than on the road, so the problem wasn’t the ballpark for him, either. Like Harrington, he’s a finesse righty whose fastball can get hit, so he pitches with little margin for error.
Providing Relief
Valentin Linarez, RHP: Linarez had success as a starter at lower levels, but with the Hoppers that wasn’t going well. After nine starts he moved to the bullpen. Without Statcast for the South Atlantic League, I don’t know whether his velocity improved, but his performance certainly did. He had an ERA of 7.11 as a starter and 3.24 as a reliever. His control wasn’t good, but in relief he fanned 50 and allowed only 25 hits in 41.2 IP. He had a couple of rough relief outings for Altoona at the end of the year.
Dante Mendoza, RHP: The Pirates got Mendoza in the Luplow/Moroff trade with Cleveland way, way back in 2018. He hasn’t pitched much in a while, between the pandemic in 2020 and injuries that cost him big chunks of 2021 and 2022. He had a 3.13 ERA over 34 games for the Hoppers. He relies heavily on a curve and change, and his career pattern is lots of strikeouts and walks. This year he had a K/9 of 12.5 and BB/9 of 6.1. He’ll be a free agent in November unless the Pirates re-sign him.
Michell Miliano, RHP: If you’ve managed to read through all these recaps, you may have noticed a pattern of live-armed but erratic relievers who were included in package deals for veterans. Miliano came in the Adam Frazier trade two years ago. He’s very hard to hit, but his control was so bad last year with the Hoppers that the Pirates sent him to development purgatory. He made progress this year, getting the BB/9 down to 5.3 while still putting up a 12.4 K/9, and he managed a 3.86 ERA. He had a rough times in 11 games for Altoona, walking just under a batter an inning without all the strikeouts. He also is eligible for free agency now.
Jack Carey, RHP: An 11th round pick in 2021, Carey was repeating the level. He improved some, with a 4.09 ERA, but his 1.46 WHIP wasn’t so good.
Joshua Loeschorn, RHP: The Pirates’ final pick in 2022, Loeschorn doesn’t have impressive stuff, but so far he’s gotten hitters out pretty well. He had an 0.98 WHIP and 13.4 K/9 at Bradenton this year in a little over half a season, then had a 4.13 ERA for the Hoppers. His walk and K rates were good, at 2.2 and 9.5 per nine innings, respectively.
Jake Stevenson, RHP: Drafted by the Reds out of the University of Minnesota in 2019, he never pitched much for them due to injuries, the pandemic and command issues. He supposedly throws 95-97 with a cutter, slider and change. The Reds released him last year and the Pirates signed him in February. They sent him to Greensboro in late May and he pitched out of the Hoppers’ bullpen until he got hurt near the end of the season. He had a 1.85 ERA and allowed only 14 hits in 24.1 IP, but he walked 18.
Trying to Make It Back From Injuries
Grant Ford, RHP: Ford was a fifth-round pick out of the University of Nevada in 2019. He has a mid-90s fastball and a slider, and has generally had high K rates. He missed most of 2022 with an unknown injury, then split this season between Greensboro and Altoona. With the Hoppers, he had a 3.94 ERA and 11.8 K/9. He’ll be 26 when next season starts.
Will Kobos, RHP: Kobos has generally been hard to hit as a pro, but his control isn’t good and he’s missed a lot of time. That included most of 2022 with a hamstring injury. He made it back to Greensboro for 11 games, then missed the rest of the season with an unknown injury. He was impressive when he pitched, allowing just four hits and seven walks in 17 innings, with 22 strikeouts. He has one more year before minor league free agency.
Greensboro had the usual contingent of relievers who don’t seem to be going anywhere. That includes several (Oliver Mateo, Logan Hofmann, Drew Irvine and Mitchell Miller) who were released. Eddy Yean was supposed to be the main return for Josh Bell, but he put up a 5.01 ERA with poor periherals in his second season at Greensboro. Santiago Florez once looked like a prospect, but he had a 7.08 ERA. They’re both eligible for free agency. Yunior Thibo had a 6.04 ERA. He had a pretty good first half for Bradenton, but his peripherals have always been weak. Ryan Harbin could be the exception here. An above-slot guy back in 2019, he’s mostly been hampered by injuries. Seemingly healthy now, he dominated in 21 relief appearances for Bradenton, then had a 6.65 ERA in 14 games for the Hoppers.
Struggling 2022 Draftees
Derek Diamond, RHP: Diamond got on a good run around mid-season for Bradenton, which earned him a promotion. In nine starts for the Hoppers, he had an ERA of 6.00. A lot of it was 11 home runs in just 45 innings. He lost velocity as a junior, which led to him dropping in the draft. The Pirates got him in round 6 and he’s going forward as a finesse pitcher. He didn’t walk many this year, but he also had very low K rates.
J.P. Massey, RHP: Massey is the opposite of Diamond, as a pitcher with good stuff — primarily his two breaking balls — but really poor command that led to very high ERAs throughout his college careers. After a good first half with Bradenton, he walked almost as many as he struck out in nine starts with the Hoppers and got sent to the development list late in the season.
Jaycob Deese, RHP: A 17th-rounder Deese pitched just a few innings in the FCL after signing last year, then got sent straight to Greensboro this year, where he pitched mainly in relief. His control was good, but he had a 5.29 ERA and opponents hit 272/321/479 against him.
Julian Bosnic, LHP: A 14th-rounder and a native of Pittsburgh, Bosnic throws a lot of changeups and has been very hard to hit, but walks left him with a 4.34 ERA for Bradenton this year. The Pirates promoted him in time for 11 games for the Hoppers. In 11.1 IP, he allowed just four hits and fanned 16, but he walked 11 and had a 6.35 ERA.
Cy Nielson, LHP: An 8th-round pick, Nielson throws around 90 and relies heavily on a slider. He spent this year in the Hoppers’ bullpen and put up a 4.44 ERA with a 1.41 WHIP. He did keep the ball in the park, allowing one home run in 46.2 IP.
For what it's worth, Yean is NOT a MiFA this offseason, but next.
Great analysis, Wilbur!!