Last week I posted the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Fall Instructional League roster for their upper level team, along with an explanation of what goes on during instructs. Over the weekend I received the roster for the second team, which also features a lot of players who are making the jump from the DSL. The roster can be seen below, with notes on the DSL players to follow.
The DSL players are significant here, as that usually indicates who will be making the jump to the US the following season. A team wouldn’t go through the trouble of trying to get a player a visa to make the jump to the US for a month of games unless they were considering that player for a promotion to the US the following season. The list of DSL players are as follows.
Yeudy Garcia, RHP
Delvin Hiciano, RHP
Mister Luciano, RHP
Alex Martinez, RHP
Richard Mitchell, RHP
Nestor Oronel, LHP
Francis Rodriguez, RHP
Edgar Santana, RHP
Jhoan Herrera, 3B
Luis Perez, 2B
Raul Siri, 2B
Adrian Valerio, SS
Victor Fernandez, OF
Edison Lantigua, OF
Sandy Santos, OF
There are a few notable names on this list. The guys I’m looking forward to seeing are Richard Mitchell, Adrian Valerio, Raul Siri, and Edison Lantigua.
Mitchell was signed at the age of 16, and has a good arm. His fastball at the age of 15 was harder than Luis Heredia’s fastball at the same age. I’d expect him to be a starter in the GCL next year.
I’ve heard great things about Valerio’s defense at shortstop, including some extreme reports saying that he’s currently the best defensive shortstop in the system, major leagues included. All of the reports say his defense is good, and I’ll be interested to see just how good the defense actually is.
Aside from the great name, Raul Siri had a nice season in the DSL this year, and will be a guy to follow. I don’t know if he’d stand out as much if his last name was OKGoogle, but the .324/.434/.521 line this season is enough to get him some recognition.
Finally, Lantigua was one of the top international prospects signed in 2013 by the Pirates, and put up a .299/.390/.433 line in 164 at-bats in the DSL this year. He received a $275,000 bonus, and is a line drive hitter with occasional power and a strong arm. Lantigua has a high ceiling and was projected to play center field when he was signed. He played left field this year, with Sandy Santos and Victor Fernandez (both also making the jump to the US) splitting time in center field.
