Aaron Baker

AARON BAKER
FIRST BASEMAN
Born: September 10, 1987
Height: 6′ 2″
Weight: 220
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Drafted: 11th Round, 325th Overall, 2009
How Acquired: Draft
College: Oklahoma
Agent: N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

Baker’s hitting over his three collegiate seasons went though an interesting progression, with the power, walks and strikeouts increasing and the average decreasing. He did some catching at Oklahoma and did reasonably well at it, but the Pirates announced him as a firstbaseman when they selected him. Baseball America ranked Baker as the 19th best prospect in Oklahoma in a banner year for the state. He’s not strong defensively.

2009: Alternated with Justin Byler between first and DH for State College. Struggled through July but posted an OPS of .842 in August. Remained patient and K total, although high, wasn’t alarming. Surprisingly, tied for league lead in triples. LHPs were a problem, holding him to an OPS of .553, as opposed to .838 against RHPs. Another big platoon split was home/road: like all Spikes’ LH hitting regulars, Baker had huge split, with .900 OPS at home and .598 on the road. Spikes’ ballpark isn’t hitter’s park overall, but appears to favor LH hitters greatly over RH hitters.

2010: Put up solid numbers at West Virginia, but nothing more than you’d expect from player drafted out of major college program playing in low A. Hit LHPs better than RHPs, so that seemingly won’t be a long-term issue. Power and strike zone judgment were both OK, but no more for player who’s limited to first. It’d help if some doubles turned into HRs as he moves up. Had defensive problems, with nineteen errors.

Baker figures to be the firstbaseman at Bradenton in 2011. He needs a breakout season to establish himself as a prospect.

STATS
Baseball Reference–Minors
Fangraphs
MiLB.com 

NCAA
BA
OBP
SA
AB
2B
3B
HR
BB
K
SB
CS
2007
.323
.382
.463
229
16
2
4
18
31
3
2
2008
.315
.408
.509
222
12
2
9
24
39
3
5
2009
.284
.417
.564
225
16
1
15
40
50
6
3
CONTRACT INFORMATION
2011: Minor League Contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut: 6/30/2009
MLB Debut: N/A
MiLB FA Eligible: 2015
MLB FA Eligible: N/A
Rule 5 Eligible: 2012
Added to 40-Man: N/A
Options Remaining: 3 (As of start of 2011 season)
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
June 10, 2009: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 11th round, 325th overall pick.
June 22, 2009: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates to a minor league contract.