Junior Sosa

JUNIOR SOSA, CENTER FIELDER
Born: October 3, 1990
Height: 5′ 10″
Weight: 161
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Signed: Int. FA, Pittsburgh Pirates, 2008
How Acquired: Int. FA
Country: Venezuela
Agent: N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

Sosa is a slightly built, very fast outfielder who resembles Juan Pierre physically.  He did pretty well at getting on base at the lowest levels and he stole a lot of bases, although often not with very good efficiency, but he has no power at all.

2008
VSL:  249/338/304, 181 AB, 7 2B, 1 HR, 23 BB, 36 K, 16-28 SB

Was the regular center fielder in the VSL and got on base at a decent rate, although walk rates trend high in that league.  He ran a lot but had a low success rate.

2009
VSL:  303/400/382, 238 AB, 7 2N, 6 3B, 34 BB, 34 K, 25-40 SB

Improved at the plate, including a high walk rate.  He continued to get thrown out a lot on the bases.  He was the regular in center again.

2010
R:  296/379/338, 142 AB, 3 2B, 1 HR, 18 BB, 20 K, 20-26 SB

Had good debut in the GCL, Finishing 7th in the league in OBP and tied for second in steals, with a much-improved success rate.  Sosa showed almost no power, but his plate discipline remained very good.  He struggled with LHPs, hitting only .209 against them and .333 against RHPs.  He played center more than anywhere else, but saw some time in the corners.

2011
R:  238/319/238, 42 AB, 5 BB, 6 K, 5-7 SB
A-:  195/267/256, 82 AB, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 BB, 9 K, 3-5 SB

A little surprisingly, Sosa returned to the GCL at the start of the season and played only part-time.  He moved up to State College when Carlos Mesa got hurt.  He struggled at the plate at both levels and hit for almost no power, with three extra-base hits in 141 ABs.  His one HR was inside-the-park.  He divided his time between center and left in the GCL and among all three outfield positions in the NYPL.  He didn’t steal as much, but continued to show a good eye.

2012
A:  268/343/331, 257 AB, 4 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 28 BB, 33 K, 22-32 SB
A+:  171/189/200, 35 AB, 1 2B, 10 K, 0-1 SB

Sosa played well in training camp and won a backup job at West Virginia despite the availability of seemingly more promising players like Taylor Lewis.  Sosa did reasonably well there, showing good plate discipline and getting on base at a decent rate.  He needs to improve his base stealing technique.  He divided his time evenly between all three outfield spots.  Sosa got a brief promotion to fill in at Bradenton in June.

2013
A:  242/310/315, 124 AB, 9 2B, 12 BB, 22 K, 6-8 K
A+:  247/303/303, 178 AB, 8 2B, 1 3B, 16 BB, 33 K, 4-8 SB

Sosa alternated between West Virginia and Bradenton, serving as a fourth outfielder at both locations.  He put up nearly identical numbers at each level, hitting and getting on base just enough to be useful.

2014
AA:  360/385/480, 25 AB. 3 2B, 1 BB, 3 K, 1-1 SB

Sosa was slated to open the season as the fourth outfielder for Altoona, but the Pirates didn’t assign him there until June.  After appearing in a dozen games, he got hurt and missed the rest of the season.

2015
A+:  263/341/395, 76 AB, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 9 BB, 13 K, 2-2 SB
AA:  286/286/286, 7 AB, 2 K

Sosa would have become a minor league free agent after the season, but he signed a minor league deal with the Pirates for 2015.  He opened the season a backup with Altoona, but was assigned to Bradenton after a few days.  In early May, he got hurt and missed three months.  He got back in time to replace Austin Meadows at Bradenton and had a two-HR game, the first time he’d gone deep in three years.

Sosa will again be a free agent after the season.

CONTRACT INFORMATION
2015: Minor League Contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut: 2008
MLB Debut: N/A
MiLB FA Eligible: 2015
MLB FA Eligible: N/A
Rule 5 Eligible: Eligible
Added to 40-Man: N/A
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
2008: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent.
October 4, 2014: Signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.