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Winter Leagues: Poor Hitting All Around to Start the Week

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Monday was a very slow night in winter ball, so the last two days are covered below, starting with action in the Dominican. On Monday night, Alen Hanson had a tough night, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. On Tuesday, he grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh, then stayed in the game as the DH and singled in the ninth. Hanson is hitting .258 through 93 at-bats, with just two extra-base hits and three walks.

Mel Rojas Jr. went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout. He was caught stealing for the first time this winter.

Pedro Florimon also saw action on Monday, going 0-for-3 before leaving for a pinch-hitter. On Tuesday, he went 1-for-3 with a single. He is hitting .210 through 16 games, with a double, two triples and two stolen bases.

Gustavo Nunez went 0-for-3 with a walk and strikeout. He is hitting .195 through 25 games and he had just five hits during the entire month of November, which included three hits in one game last week.

Starling Marte took batting practice with Escogido on Monday. He has expressed a desire to play winter ball this year, but he would need permission from the Pirates to play. Gregory Polanco took batting practice, worked out with Escogido and even played in a minor league game last year, but the Pirates wouldn’t allow him to play. So for now, Marte could just be doing some off-season workouts.

In Puerto Rico, Danny Ortiz went 1-for-4 with a single. He picked up his third outfield assist in the last ten days. Ortiz is hitting .169 through 77 at-bats.

In Mexico, Carlos Munoz went 0-for-5 and he is currently in a 6-for-37 slump, with a .433 OPS over his last ten games. Despite the slump, he still has an .825 OPS in 40 games, ranking 14th in the league.

Sebastian Valle went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. In 17 games, he is hitting .242 with one walk and 16 strikeouts.

Felipe Gonzalez pitched the bottom of the 11th and started with a strikeout against Miguel Olivo, but that was followed by four straight singles to bring home the winning run in a 7-6 loss.

The Veracruz League(Mexico) began play on Tuesday, but no Pirates’ players saw action. The rosters haven’t been posted yet, so I don’t know for sure if any will be in the league. The final winter league to start play this year will be the one in Panama, which begins on December 10th.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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