SURPRISE, AZ – One nice advantage of covering a single organization in the Arizona Fall League is that you can focus specifically on a few players, or on some days, one player in particular. The Pirates had four players playing today, with Connor Joe as the designated hitter, and Alex McRae and Montana DuRapau coming on in relief. But Eric Wood provided the most viewing opportunities, playing third base this afternoon.
Sometimes, this specific focus doesn’t work out, as it all depends on the player having a good day at the plate, or getting a lot of opportunities on the field. Fortunately, both of those things happened today with Wood, as he put on a show in Surprise.
Wood has been hitting the ball well all throughout the AFL season, continuing what he did this year in Altoona. He hit his third double of the season today, and second one this week since I’ve been here. He also added a hard hit single and another bloop single where he went downstairs to get a low pitch, and lofted it into shallow center field.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMZpu6_gRZ0/?taken-by=piratesprospects
Wood has always gotten good reviews for his power potential, dating all the way back to his pro debut in 2012 in the GCL. That finally showed up this year, and the bat makes him a very interesting prospect. And he’s not just a guy with a bat either. Wood has improved his defense this year, getting named the best defensive third baseman in the Eastern League by Baseball America. And he put those defensive tools on display this afternoon.
Wood had nine ground balls hit to him this afternoon. He made seven outs to first, started a double play, and had one hard hit ball that ate him up, but went for a hit. The grounders weren’t exactly routine either. He showed good first step quickness and good range, along with a strong arm. A few of the grounders were plays down the line, where he got over, made the scoop, and made the strong throw across the diamond. Others saw him ranging over in front of the shortstop on balls in the hole between third and short, and making the play. He showed good glove work and a quick transfer, fielding the ball and making the throw in a smooth manner.
It’s hard to say what kind of upside Wood could have right now, since he really came on this year on both sides of the ball, and you need to see more than one year to make any strong statements. The defense definitely looks legit, as he has the tools to be able to start at third base. The big question would be whether the offense can translate to the upper levels. He’s shown a good approach at the plate, with a lot of walks and good strikeout totals. The power production this year was definitely encouraging, and that has carried over to the AFL. Between the defense and the offensive tools, he could be an average starting third baseman or better, depending on how much the offense carries over from Double-A to the majors.
Connor Joe didn’t have as good of a day today as he did in his last game on Tuesday, but did manage one hit on a pop up that fell into play in shallow right field. That tied the game at 6-6, although Surprise ended up losing in extra innings.
https://youtu.be/EuiL8-aAOtg
Alex McRae didn’t have a good outing, giving up a single and a two-run homer in his first three batters. He did get three groundouts, and was sitting 90-92 MPH with his fastball today. The home run pitch actually wasn’t a bad one, thrown 90 MPH inside just off the strike zone to the right-handed Dawel Lugo, which he turned on and pulled into the left field bullpen.
Montana DuRapau hasn’t had the best results in the AFL this year, but has been efficient and put up good innings in both outings that I’ve seen this week. Today, DuRapau pitched a perfect inning, needing only ten pitches, and getting two strikeouts, including this one on a 93 MPH fastball to end the inning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCbj_kERqRE&feature=youtu.be
I talked to DuRapau after the game, and he mentioned that he’s been focused on improving his curveball to make it an out pitch. Last year he worked with a fastball/cutter combo, using the cutter as an out pitch. This year, he has gone more of a split with the fastball and cutter, using the latter pitch as another fastball with more movement. That creates the need for a third pitch that can be used for outs. He got a strikeout on the curve for his second out today, after setting it up with two straight four-seamers for strikes. Here is a GIF of the curve.
A few former Pirates were on the field today, with JaCoby Jones and Shane Carle playing for Salt River. Jones, who was traded for Joakim Soria, had a hit and scored the game winning run, but still looked like a free swinger, taking big cuts at a lot of pitches. Carle, who was traded for Rob Scahill, gave up two homers, but otherwise kept the ball on the ground.
Here are some photos from today’s action.
