Edwin Espinal

WTM’S PLAYER PROFILE

2011
DSL:  269/382/352, 108 AB, 9 2B, 20 BB, 10 K, 3-5 SB

In his debut season, Espinal hit for a solid average and had twice as many walks as Ks.  He played first exclusively, except for one cameo at third, and also missed some time with an injury.

2012
R:  244/261/328, 131 AB, 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 BB, 26 K, 0-1 SB

The Pirates sent Espinal to the GCL.  They had him working at third during camp and he played there some early in the season, but eventually Eric Wood took over the position and Espinal played mainly first.  Espinal’s size probably won’t be conducive to him playing third and he’s awkward in the field, so it seems a pretty optimistic location for him.  At bat, his plate discipline did a complete about-face and he struck out in his first nine ABs.  He struggled throughout June and July, hitting .202 with no walks and 23 strikeouts, but he turned it around in August, batting 319/360/404 with three walks and only three Ks.  In the GCL playoffs, Espinal played first over Stetson Allie.

2013
A-:  288/316/350, 240 AB, 9 2B, 2 HR, 9 BB, 38 K, 1-2 SB

Espinal was the primary first baseman for Jamestown and also saw some time at DH.  He played only one game at third.  He hit for a good average, but didn’t draw many walks or hit for much power.  The one positive sign was that he started hitting for power late in the season; both his HRs and all but two of his doubles came in his last 30 games.  His power came mainly against LHPs, as he slugged .420 against them and only .332 against RHPs.

2014
A:  283/327/385, 470 AB, 25 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 27 BB, 71 K, 1-2 SB

Espinal continued to make progress, showing more power, although not nearly the sort of power you’d want from a firstbase-only player.  He also walked more, although his walk rate was still low.  Espinal struggled early in the season, posting an OPS of .665 and .656 in April and May, respectively.  He got hot in June, hitting 323/368/455, then fell of to an OPS of .710 and .707 in July and August.  He hit RHPs better than LHPs.

2015
A+:  256/316/351, 390 AB, 22 2B, 5 HR, 36 BB, 52 K, 1-1 SB

Espinal was initially slated to return to low A due to the presence of Jose Osuna at Bradenton, who in turn was blocked by Josh Bell in AA.  Espinal had a strong spring, though, prompting the Pirates to send him to Bradenton anyway.  He ended up as the regular at first all year, as the Pirates initially moved Osuna to the outfield and then promoted him to AA.  Espinal improved his plate discipline, but otherwise his hitting fell off.  Some of this was probably due to the Florida State League, which is the toughest league for hitters in the minors and where offensive numbers were even lower than usual in 2015.  The entire league batted only 248/313/337, so Espinal’s seemingly weak power numbers were above average for the league.  Espinal struggled badly against RHPs, though, by any reckoning, posting just a .624 OPS against them, compared to .773 against LHPs.  He wasn’t helped dramatically by McKechnie Field, with a .693 OPS at home and .641 on the road.

2016
AA:  289/324/411, 394 AB, 25 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 19 BB, 67 K, 0-1 SB

Espinal was the primary first baseman for Altoona, although he also got into 14 games at third.  He showed good hands at first, but not much agility around the bag.  At the plate, Espinal hit better than 2015, but his walk rate dropped sharply.  He stepped up the power some, but he still didn’t show nearly the power a major league team would want from a first baseman.  His platoon split was minimal.

2017
AA:  283/322/474, 367 AB, 25 2B, 15 HR, 18 BB, 48 K, 0-1 SB
AAA:  323/341/369, 130 AB, 6 2B, 4 BB, 22 K, 1-1 SB

Espinal again wasn’t selected in the Rule 5 draft and the Pirates sent him back to Altoona.  He played mainly at first, with two games at third.  He significantly increased his power output, more than doubling his career high in HRs.  In late July, the Pirates promoted him to Indianapolis, where he hit for a high average but no power or walks in 35 games.  For the season, he hit 321/356/482 against LHPs and 283/316/433 against RHPs.

Espinal isn’t too dissimilar to Jose Osuna:  a first baseman who doesn’t run well and who makes contact but for most of his career hasn’t shown much power.  That may not work in his favor, as the Pirates already have Osuna on the 40-man roster.  Espinal will become a minor league free agent in the fall if the Pirates don’t add him to the roster.