I’ve talked about the international hitters in West Virginia a lot. There seems to be a daily update about how well Alen Hanson is playing. Then there’s Gregory Polanco, Jose Osuna, and Willy Garcia, who are all crushing the ball.
I was looking through the leaderboards today, and the results were about what I expected. Those four hitters were dominating almost every offensive category in the minor league system. However, there were a few other players who stood out. Drew Maggi stood out in the areas you’d like to see from a speedy top of the order hitter (stolen bases, walks, on-base percentage). Mel Rojas stood out in hits and triples, although you’d like to see him showing up in the home runs and slugging fields, and it’s not good seeing him in the strikeout area. Stefan Welch appeared in a few categories, although he’s more of an organizational player. Then there’s Jordy Mercer, who appeared in a few categories, which is good to see with Clint Barmes struggling.
Here is a rundown of the top three hitters in the Pirates’ minor league system in each offensive category. The numbers are prior to the games on 5/14.
Hits
1. Alen Hanson (A) – 52
2. Mel Rojas (A+) – 40
3. Jose Osuna (A), Jordy Mercer (AAA) – 39
Doubles
1. Alen Hanson (A) – 14
2. Jose Osuna (A) – 13
3. Matt Curry (AA), Dan Gamache (A+) – 10
Triples
1. Mel Rojas (A+) – 5
2. Alen Hanson (A) – 4
3. Starling Marte (AAA) – 3
Home Runs
1. Gregory Polanco (A) – 7
2. Willy Garcia (A) – 6
3. Alen Hanson (A), Stefan Welch (A+) – 5
Stolen Bases
1. Drew Maggi (A+) – 13
2. Alen Hanson (A) – 12
3. Gregory Polanco (A) – 10
Walks
1. Evan Chambers (A+) – 23
2. Drew Maggi (A+) – 22
3. Robbie Grossman (AA) , Brandon Boggs (AAA) – 20
Strikeouts
1. Gift Ngoepe (A+) – 41
2. Evan Chambers (A+) – 40
3. Brandon Boggs (AAA), Mel Rojas (A+) – 37
Batting Average (100+ ABs)
1. Alen Hanson (A) – .349
2. Gregory Polanco (A) – .304
3. Jose Osuna (A) – .302
On Base Percentage (100+ ABs)
1. Drew Maggi (A+) – .406
2. Alen Hanson (A) – .388
3. Jordy Mercer (AAA) – .375
Slugging Percentage (100+ ABs)
1. Alen Hanson (A) – .597
2. Gregory Polanco (A) – .528
3. Stefan Welch (A+) – .488
Links and Notes
**The Pirates won 3-2 against the Marlins. Kristy Robinson looks at how Brad Lincoln stepped up in his spot start in tonight’s notebook.
**Prospect Watch: A good start for Nick Kingham, and Alen Hanson has three hits.
**Justin Wilson left his start with a groin injury. Nancy Zinni has a recap from the rest of today’s Indianapolis victory.
**The prospect trends from the last week.
**Draft prospects rundown from the last week.
**Jose Tabata gets his swagger back.
**A Pitch F/X preview of the Marlins’ starters.
**The transcript from my weekly prospects chat.
**Kevin Creagh looks at The Altoona Four as a superhero group.
