Tito Polo

TITO POLO, CENTERFIELDER
Born: August 23, 1994
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 180
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Signed: Int’l Free Agent, 2012, Pittsburgh Pirates
How Acquired: International Free Agent
Country: Colombia
Agent: N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

Polo signed out of Colombia.  He’s shown a good range of skills, including speed, decent power and good on-base skills.  In the DSL, he split his time between center and left.

2012
DSL:  280/404/394, 132 AB, 7 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 16 BB, 32 K, 17-24 SB

Polo had a strong debut season in the DSL, with solid performance across the board.  The high OBP resulted partly from Polo getting hit by a dozen pitches in just 55 games.

2013
DSL:  275/362/375, 160 AB, 3 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 15 BB, 41 K, 22-27 SB

A little surprisingly, the Pirates sent Polo back to the DSL.  He didn’t have quite as good a season as the previous year, possibly as a result of being hampered off and on by hamstring problems.

2014
R:  291/374/475, 158 AB, 8 2B, 6 3B, 3 HR, 17 BB, 34 K, 8-12 SB

Polo was the primary right fielder in the GCL and had a strong season, hitting for average and power, with passable plate discipline.

2015
A:  236/313/328, 360 AB, 20 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 28 BB, 77 K, 46-59 SB

Polo had a disappointing season as the regular in center field for West Virginia.  He never really got his bat going.  His best month was July, when he posted a .900 OPS, but that was in only 12 games as he missed about half the month playing for Team Colombia in the Pan American Games.  Otherwise, his best monthly OPS was just .698.  His plate dicsipline was marginal and his power dropped off sharply.  He struggled against LHPs, posting a .540 OPS against them and .693 against RHPs.  The one positive on offense was that he stole 46 bases with a success rate of 78%.  Defensively he showed good range.

Polo didn’t turn 21 until near the end of the 2015 season, so he was a good age for the South Atlantic League, thanks to moving there directly from the GCL.  The Pirates will send him back there in 2016.

CONTRACT INFORMATION
2016: Minor League Contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut: 2012
MLB Debut: N/A
MiLB FA Eligible: 2018
MLB FA Eligible: N/A
Rule 5 Eligible: 2016
Added to 40-Man: N/A
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
March 12, 2012: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent.