Pittsburgh Pirates 2023 minor league offensive leaders

Statistical recap of major offensive categories for the 2023 season

The 2023 minor league baseball season is over for each of the affiliates for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. While there wasn’t a clear cut stand alone stand out on the offensive side of things, there were still plenty of strong performances throughout the season.

Jack Brannigan earned the nod for his performance this year as the minor league hitter of the year here on Bucs on Deck, finishing just one home run shy of a 20/20 season, and did well in a few other offensive categories.

Here’s a look back at some of the top offensive performers in different categories during the 2023 season.

Home Runs

1. Jase Bowen - 23

2. Rodolfo Nolasco - 20

3. Matt Gorski - 20

4. Jack Brannigan - 19

5. Mason Martin/Termarr Johnson - 18

Bowen had one of the best offensive seasons in the South Atlantic League, earning a promotion to Altoona to end the season. His 23 home runs led the Pirates system, and there were plenty of familiar names following up behind him.

Matt Gorski put together his second straight 20/20 season, and Mason Martin is no stranger finishing here. At just 19-years-old, Termarr Johnson is the youngest player on the list, finishing with 18 across Bradenton and Greensboro.

RBI

1. Jase Bowen - 95

2. Miguel Andujar - 86

3. Canaan Smith-Njigba - 74

4. Rodolfo Nolasco - 72

5. Javier Rivas - 63

Bowen’s display of his offensive prowess this season continues, finishing with nine more RBI than the next player. After struggling in limited time with Pittsburgh, Smith-Njigba put up a very solid year in Triple-A.

Rodolfo Nolasco missed some time with an injury, and also struggled for a stretch, but ended the season on a tear. Rivas might be the most shocking name on here after his struggles in Bradenton, but played extremely well in the Florida Complex League.

Average

1. Miguel Andujar - .338

2. Josiah Sightler - .311

3. Henry Davis - .306

4. Jared Triolo - .299

5. Domingo Leyba - .293

When it comes to batting average, I made it a minimum of at least 200 plate appearances to be able to qualify.

Andujar got a first place vote for hitter of the year, which shouldn’t be surprising since he’s been on two of the three we’ve done so far already. Josiah Sightler burst on the scene after getting a late start to the season, blowing through the FCL, Bradenton and into Greensboro to end the season.

Domingo Leyba took an opportunity and ran with it, putting together a very strong season between Altoona and Indianapolis.

Stolen Bases

1. Jesus Castillo - 39

2. Deivis Nadal - 33

3. Chavez Young - 32

4. Mike Jarvis - 31

5. Tres Gonzalez - 28

If you want to know what kind of emphasis the Pirates put on stealing bases in the lower levels, three of the five players here started the year in Bradenton.

Castillo and Nadal remained there the entire season, and were dynamic on the base paths. Castillo didn’t hit great, but drew over 100 walks this season, adding plenty of more opportunities.

Young is more known for his defense, but still topped the 30 stolen base mark. Tres Gonzalez put together a surprisingly solid 2023 campaign, finishing just short of 30.

wRC+

1. Henry Davis - 174

2. Jack Brannigan - 146

3. Josiah Sightler - 142

4. Termarr Johnson - 141

5. Lonnie White Jr. - 139

In case we needed another remainder of just how good Davis was before getting recalled, he walked away with the top spot for wRC+.

Our hitter of the year Brannigan finished second, with a 146 mark with Sightler and Termarr right behind him.

After all of last year with an injury, and then the start of this season, Lonnie White Jr. hit the ground running in the FCL and later Bradenton. His performance here is why he got a first place vote for breakout player of the year here.