Yordany De Los Santos continues to hit his way towards another shot in Bradenton
Yordany De Los Santos continues to hit his way towards another shot in Bradenton
FCL infielder has been one of better hitters in the Pirates' system this year.
There haven’t been too many standout hitting performances in the Pirates’ system so far this year—the most notable being Charles McAdoo.
With his recent promotion to Altoona, attention can turn to the next hitting prospect who seems in line for a move up the system, Yordany De Los Santos.
While this is his second year in the complex league, he is still a very young 19-year-old, and once again, in the middle of the season, he is among the best in several offensive categories.
De Los Santos is currently in the top 10 when it comes to OPS (9th), stolen bases (7th), runs scored (2nd), triples (2nd), average (3rd), and slugging (7th, Pirates have three players in the top 10).
Saturday, he put on another show, picking up three hits, including an inside-the-park-home run against the Orioles. He drove the ball the other way, 102 mph off the bat, and made it around all the bases to score.
The question will be, when exactly do you move him up to Bradenton? While the numbers have been good, even better than the year before, there are a few factors to consider.
This is his second year in the league, and he has some experience against more advanced pitchers in Bradenton—even if that didn’t go well.
He struggled last year after getting promoted, looking completely overmatched at times. This year can be different, and he will still be super young for the level, so there’s still time.
Regardless, few players have performed at the level De Los Santos has, and with about a month left in the FCL season, you’d have to think there will be some movement no later than then.
While there haven’t been a lot of big-time hitting performances during the first half of the season, some players have been pushing for a potential promotion.
Here are a few names to watch out for as candidates.
FCL Pirates - Jhonny Severino, YDLS
We talked about Yordany already, but Severino has been right there with him regarding performance. He’s shown a little more in-game power, at least when it comes to the home runs, but there have been some swing-and-miss issues as well.
The Pirates don’t have a lot of legit power-hitting prospects in the system, but Severino has the chance to be one.
Bradenton - Carlson Reed
You can argue that Omar Alfonzo is also ready, but I don’t mind his everyday at-bats while getting the majority of the playing time behind the plate to continue to improve his defensive game.
He could also work on his consistency with non-fastballs and elevating the ball a bit. Maybe not now, but he should finish the year in Greensboro.
I’m still torn on where I think Reed profiles best. He’s done well in the rotation, although at a level he should be performing at. The fastball isn’t overpowering, and doesn’t have the best shape—and is still working on commanding it better in the zone.
All of those are recipes to get beat up as he advances. The slider and change-up have been incredibly strong with him, though. He may get away with the below-average fastball because of those two pitches, but either way, a push-up in competition would be big for his development.
Greensboro - Luis Peralta, Hunter Barco, Patrick Reilly
The Grasshoppers are loaded with players who could probably use a boost, but these three really stand out.
This time last year, it probably would have been safe to assume that Peralta wouldn’t make it out of Bradenton despite having above-average stuff. They pushed him to Greensboro and threw him in the bullpen, and he’s responded incredibly well, striking out over 40% of the batters he’s faced.
It looks like they are pumping the breaks on Barco a bit right now. He has had a stretch where he’s struggled, but at 23 years old and being a college pitcher, Double-A is more suited to test him.
Reilly has looked good out of the rotation, even with the walks. The fastball is playing well right now and has the velocity and shape to get batters to miss in the upper levels.
Altoona - Sean Sullivan
He hasn’t pitched great in June, posting a 5.14 ERA in 21 innings this month. It comes down to the fact that he will be 24 during the off-season and already has over 180 innings in Double-A.
Sullivan doesn’t have the most upside but still has a solid floor as a back-of-the-rotation starter. With how the secondary stuff has played up a bit more this year, there is also some intrigue as a reliever.
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Besides McAdoo, the only position players worth following play in the FCL. De Los Santos, Blanco, Ramirez. S. Polanco and Tremarr Johnson, Lonnie White now appear to be busts. For an organization that necessarily depends on signing and developing players, this is just another part of the catastrophe that includes Bae, Davis, Peguero, Rodriguez and even Cruz and Hayes. That's seven players with below average hit tools. If the Pirates fail to make it to the WS, this failure of development is the reason for it.
I'm hoping that Weiderholt (sp) drops to the Pirates. His hit tool grades as 70. If he fails, that would all but confirm that the development staff is the problem.
Peralta must be making a point. Woods helped blow a 3-run 9th inning lead in his first Altoona outing. Meanwhile Peralta threw the last two innings of a 2-1, 11 inning Greensboro win. He stranded the free runner in both innings.