Tony Blanco Jr. is ultimate wild card entering 2024 season

Tony Blanco may have the most raw power in the minors right now, but is still a giant wildcard for the Pirates.

There is so much variance in players down in the DSL that it’s hard to get excited about anyone, even if they perform well. With so many factors that can play into their success that won’t be the case when they move to the States, it’s generally best to temper expectations, regardless of the results.

Every now and again, there are players that you can’t help but get excited for, and heading into the 2024 season, the Pirates may have one of those players in Tony Blanco Jr.

Still, as a teenager, the son of former big leaguer Tony Sr. has shown a rare blend of raw power that is already starting to be incorporated into games.

According to Baseball America, where Blanco was named as a player who just missed out on the Pirates’ top 30 prospects for the site, his average exit velocity was 92.9 mph. His two most relative comps for that are Julio Rodriguez and Rafael Devers.

When it comes to his 90th percentile EV, which gives a better idea of a player’s long-term prospectus when it comes to hitting for power, no player with at least 30 plate appearances registered a higher mark than Blanco’s 113.2 mph.

Blanco won’t turn 19 until May of this year and may have the most power in the minors and is already in elite company when it comes to major leaguers.

So why isn’t he flying to the top of prospect rankings?

Outside of the power, Blanco is pretty limited as a prospect. He’ll likely be limited to first base, and BA gave him a ‘30’ for his hit, and run tool, a ‘40’ for field, and ‘50’ for arm.

Basically, the power will have to carry him, and seeing he’s already having swing-and-miss issues so early in his career, it will be quite the uphill climb for Blanco.

He struck out 69 times in 40 games and 157 plate appearances (37.6%) in 2023 in the DSL.

Blanco will be an interesting prospect to watch going forward and will undoubtedly produce some highlight reel clips when he gets ahold of the ball.

The power alone will keep him a relevant name, but there is a lot of work to be done to make himself a legitimate prospect.