Battling Bucs : Down On The Farm: The Middle Infield

The Pirates have been continuously teasing us with spurts of good play only to follow them up with some heart aching losses. It’s impossible to know if the latest positive glimmer is the start of a turnaround or just another agonizing tease that will leave us disappointed. Much like the start of the Pirates season the minor leagues are a place that can give us a tease of something just to pull it back or can give us something truly game changing. Following the minor leagues isn't for everyone as mostly it consists of players who will never sniff the majors but with very few exceptions nearly all players that have blossomed into stars or even merely average major league contributors cut their teeth somewhere in a much more hidden environment. It is for this reason I and so many like me are pulled towards the minor leagues.
I provide these updates for those who care to dream and are ok with their hopes being dashed more often than not. So before I continue remember to take everything from here on out with a few grains of salt and realize any hope I may give you very well may just be fleeting.
A full proper minor league update would make for too long a piece so I have opted to begin this year's breakdown by looking at various positions. First up I have chosen the middle infield. For the most part this will consist of 3-4 players per level and with 4 levels playing that means 15 ish players.
A: West Virginia Power
Pablo Reyes: Reyes is one of the early season break out guys. Receiving an aggressive push from Bristol last year Reyes wasn't just an afterthought but he was by no means in the spot light either. In short he was a marginal prospect the Pirates were giving a push to see how he responded. Early results have been fantastic as the small Reyes (5' 10" 150 lbs) has been showing the most power on the team with a .235 ISO and 4 home runs. Reyes has also been a threat on the bases this year stealing 6 bases without having been caught once. Originally signed as a shortstop Reyes moved off the position last year as his defense just wasn't up to par but he has been fine at 2B thus far and with his surprising power could quickly develop into a solid 2B prospect. One concern is his early season OBP of just barely above .300 but it’s been solid in the past so it very well may just be an adjustment thing. Still the power and the fact he is properly aged for his current level makes him a fascinating one to keep an eye on.
Cole Tucker: Manning the other spot up the middle is last year's surprise first round pick Cole Tucker. Despite not being thought of as an elite talent like Meadows and McGuire before him Tucker still received an aggressive push to West Virginia where at 18 years old he is easily one of the youngest players in the league. Tucker started off holding his own and posting respectable numbers but has fallen into a bit of a slump this past week and his numbers being so early on in the season have dipped into poor territory. Still Tucker doesn't appear to be overmatched at the level as he has the second lowest strike out rate of any Power regular. Tucker is still so young and raw that it would be unwise to read much of anything into poor numbers at this level however with the exception of the last week or so the numbers really weren't that bad. By all accounts he has been playing a solid shortstop and has shown nothing of yet that indicates he is going to have to move off the position.
The Rest: Tucker and Reyes have combined to make 45 of the 58 starts up the middle so there hasn't been much playing time left for the other guys. Tyler Filliben last year's 12th round pick began the season as the regular 3B but once Luplow got ready for action he transitioned into a reserve 2B/3B role. Coming from the college ranks one would hope for Filliben's numbers to be rather good but that hasn't been the case thus far as in 49 PA he has yet to register even one extra base hit. Filliben was considered a bat first player so that is rather disappointing though it’s still early but it going to be tough for him to get playing time. Trace Tam Sing an undrafted free agent from last year has picked up the little shortstop time not taken by Tucker. Sing was considered a glove first infielder but surprisingly he has posted solid offensive numbers through 51 plate appearances showing some surprising pop with a .179 ISO. Erik Forgione was taken in the 25th round last year and is basically a cross between Filliben and Forgione meaning he doesn't stand out offensively nor defensively but isn't a liability either. He only appeared briefly before Filliben transitioned out of the regular 3B role and into his job.
A+: Bradenton Marauders
Erich Weiss: One of my favorite fringe minor league prospects and not solely just because of his awesome name (though if he were a relief pitcher his name would win me over completely). For those of you who may be unfamiliar Ehrich Weiss was Harry Houdini's "real" name (that was the spelling the family chose when they immigrated, prior to that it was the slightly different Erik Weeisz). Since being drafted by the Pirates in 2103 Weiss has proven himself to be a solid hitter. He makes good contact and is reasonably selective at the plate but lacks power in a big way. Weiss does have a bit of a K problem but so far this year he has shown improvements in that area. Aside from the drop in K rate Weiss has displayed a very similar profile this year. Weiss was originally a 3B but his arm and his range were limited there and combined with his batting profile the Pirates decided to move him to 2B where everything would in theory play better. Weiss is still working on that change and has a long ways to go before he can even be considered a competent second baseman. At 23 Weiss is a touch older than you would like for the level but his bat is still interesting enough that if he can manage to develop into a solid 2B he could establish himself as a real prospect.
JaCoby Jones: Jones was one of the breakout stars from last year. Drafted as an outfielder in 2013 the Pirates saw enough athletic ability in Jones to try him at shortstop and it appears he does have the ability to play the position though he has plenty more work to do to show he can stick there. Jones calling card though is his bat as he has plus power which would be exceptional for a middle infielder. Even if he manages to not stick at short there is enough potential in the bats that he could play another position. The big problem with Jones though is his obscene K rate which nears 30%. He is either going to have to find a way to be productive with it or more likely drop it some as upper level pitching tends to eat players with high K rates in the low minors alive. The potential with Jones is there as he could be an above average starting shortstop if he can settle into the position and cut his K rate but it also possible he never learns to get his K rate under control and winds up unable to get out of AA. This year has been more of the same for Jones, good offensive numbers, poor K rate and a learning curve at the position.
The Rest: There have been very few opportunities for anyone else as these two have played all but 6 games at the position. Justin Sellers received some brief action here on a rehab assignment but isn't worth discussing here. Chris Diaz appears to be the primary backup and really there is little to distinguish him. Diaz was drafted in 2012 and has essentially served as a utility player since becoming pro. He plays a respectable shortstop but his bat is light and he is capable of moving all over the infield. This year he has only received 35 plate appearances with poor results. Basically he is a typical organizational guy. Michael Fransoso has picked up whatever playing time remains while serving as a reserve infield and outfielder. Fransoso has shown more potential with the bat than Diaz these last two seasons and he has the ability to play in the outfield but he doesn't appear to be a legit option at shortstop. Basically he is a depth guy that can hit a little bit.
AA: Altoona Curve
Max Moroff: I've long been higher on Moroff than the consensus and I have even admitted I probably had him ranked too highly. This year he seems to be justifying my rather high praise for him as he has probably been the biggest breakout player in the system. I always called Moroff essentially a Robbie Grossman type with more potential and one who was at a better position for that type of player (middle infielder vs outfield). Moroff like Grossman is a very selective hitter to the point where it is a negative and also like Grossman he has some power which he rarely gets to show off because of his highly selective nature. This year the Pirates have seemed to work with Moroff on being more aggressive and good thing have happened. Through 124 PA he has a line of .358/.430/.519 which is just utterly ridiculous and is even better than Josh Bell. Moroff was drafted in the 16th round of the 2012 draft and only signed once the Pirates went overslot with him upon learning that Appel wouldn't sign. He was originally a shortstop and while he can play there adequately he is ideally best suited for second base which is where he has primarily been playing this year and last year. At 22 he is young for the level which makes his starts that much more impressive.
Gift Ngoepe: I'm not sure what I can say about Gift that hasn't already been said. He is probably one of the Pirates more know minor leaguers thanks to an SI article that detailed his unusually journey to professional baseball. He was the first black player signed to a pro contract out of South Africa and though he of course had talent he was mainly seen as an afterthought aside from his unusual background. However Gift though he struggled at the plate started to really settle in at the shortstop position and used his great athleticism to his advantage to become a sensational defensive player at the position. Ngoepe is now considered the best (or possibly second best) defensive shortstop in the Pirates system. Gift has been consistently overmatched when experiencing each new level for the first time though he has settled in and became at least a competent hitter at each level plus he shows a bit more power than you would expect. This year Ngoepe received regular duty at shortstop largely because of an injury to Adam Frazier and he showed little at the plate until Frazier was close to returning but in the last week or so he has really turned it on making it so he can't be taken out of the lineup. Personally I think there is a major league player here but it remains to be seen if that will ever come to fruition.
The Rest: More so than any other pairing Moroff and Ngoepe just aren't coming off the field. Each player has taken just one day off this season. Ngoepe played every game at short for the first few weeks largely because he was really the only shortstop on the roster. This has changed recently thanks to Adam Frazier getting healthy and joining the team. Frazier was a 6th round pick in 2013 and has performed adequately these last two years and has the look of a potential future reserve player in the majors. He was expected to begin the year as the starting SS at Altoona but a broken finger held him out until just recently. He has the capability of playing a decent shortstop but he is going to be exceptional there and his bat isn't anything special either. In short he is competent middle infielder who doesn't really do anything great or poor. Taking the other game at 2B was Dan Gamache who is basically a one year older version of Erich Weiss. Gamache was a 3B who's bat didn't profile well there so the Pirates moved him over to 2B. Gamache never really picked up the position though and aside from a hot stretch in AA to close out last year never showed much power so he was transitioned into a utility infielder role this year and has been used at 1B, 2B and 3B.
AAA: Indianapolis Indians
Alen Hanson: I know I don't need to say much about Hanson. Hanson is the Pirates top middle infield prospect and along with Gregory Polanco he took the system by storm in 2012 with an amazing performance in A ball. Unlike Polanco the rest of the ride hasn't been as smooth. Hanson was never considered a gifted defensive shortstop but the Pirates did all they could to have him stick there before deciding near the end of last year that it just wasn't working and moving over to 2B. The move certainly cost him some value but his bat has enough potential that he is still a very highly touted prospect. Hanson started 2015 slow posting a .472 OPS in his first 14 games but over the next 14 games he posted a .766 OPS so it seems he is back on track (14 isn't cherry picked per se, he has played 28 games so I just split them into two halves). Slow starts are nothing new for Hanson as aside from his 2012 season it has been the norm. If Hanson shows he is comfortable at 2B and continues to hit more like he has recently he could be an option for the Pirates this season either at 2B or as a September call up to pinch run.
Pedro Florimon: It appears Florimon very nearly won a spot on the bench out of Spring Training but alas he came up short and was DFA'd. He spent the first part of the season in DFA limbo but he cleared waivers and was sent to AAA. Florimon is a defensive first shortstop who can run a little bit but has shown to be offensively challenged. When first joining the AA team he got off to a hot start but has since cooled down and is now only sharing the shortstop duties. At this point Florimon isn't a prospect and is just major league depth should an array of injuries force the Pirates hand much like it did last season.
Gustavo Nunez: Nunez isn't all that different from Florimon as he too is a defensive minded shortstop who is serving as depth for the Pirates from the AAA level. Nunez started the season as the regular shortstop but it was assumed he would cede the position if Florimon cleared waivers but he really hasn't and the position has become basically just an even split. So far this season Nunez has posted similar offensive production to Florimon though they have gone about it in different ways. Nunez has barely struck out and has relied on OBP (he has no XBH) whereas Florimon has struck out a bit and has a rather poor OBP but some sort of power.
The Rest: Steve Lombarozzi, Justin Sellers and Kelson Brown have all gotten scare playing time in the infield so far. Lombardozzi who is now up with the Pirates is a jack of all trades capable of playing nearly anywhere. He got off to a hot start in AAA and has been rewarded with a promotion to the majors. Justin Sellers is still officially on a rehab assignment but will likely be assigned to the AAA level soon. He figures to factor into the SS picture as he too has a similar profile to Florimon and Nunez though with a touch more bat and a bit less glove. Kelson Brown is just upper level roster filler who held down a roster spot early on in the year while other players got healthy.