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JARED OLIVA, CENTER FIELDER
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| Born: November 27, 1995 Height: 6’3″ Weight: 187 Bats: Right Throws: Right Drafted: 7th Round, 208th Overall, 2017 How Acquired: Draft College: University of Arizona Agent: N/A |
WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE |
| Oliva was the second college senior the Pirates took early in the 2017 draft, after fourth rounder Jason Delay. MLB Pipeline called him an athletic player with speed that helps him both on offense and defense. He played for three seasons at Arizona and batted 321/385/498 in 2017, which was a big improvement over his previous showings. He also improved his plate discipline markedly, as it had been a weakness previously. The numbers aren’t quite as impressive as they look, as his OBP was below average for a team that played in a high-offense environment. His power was mainly of the gap variety, with just four HRs but the second-most doubles in the Pac 12. He’s relatively inexperienced and, given his size, may have more raw power than what he’s shown. He has the potential to stay in center, but according to Baseball America his skills there still need polish. He has above-average speed and stole ten bases in 13 tries. Despite his being a senior, the Pirates signed him for exactly the slot amount.
2017 Oliva was Morgantown’s primary center fielder, although he played a little in both corners as well. He hit decently with good gap power; he tied for the league lead in triples. His walk and K rates obviously weren’t great, but he did well at base stealing. 2018 Oliva was the starting center fielder for Bradenton and had something of a breakout season. After a slow start, he had three strong months before struggling in August, during which he was in and out of the lineup with a hand injury. His OPS by month: April: .596 Oliva’s overall line, which included increased power in particular, compared well with the league average of 252/323/368. He crushed LHPs for an .889 OPS, while posting a .729 figure against RHPs. Despite skipping a level, he improved both his walk and K rate, and he led the league in steals while maintaining a solid success rate. He also played well on defense. 2019 Oliva spent the season as the center fielder at Altoona. He got off to a terrible start, but got hot in June and especially July before slumping late in the season as he did the year before. His monthly OPS, excluding two September games: April: .669 He had a small reverse platoon split. Oliva continued to play strong defense and finished second in the league in steals. Oliva figures to be at Indianapolis, where he could be the center fielder or share time there with Jason Martin. With Starling Marte gone and weak-hitting Jarrod Dyson set to open the season as the center fielder in the majors, the Pirates badly need somebody with some offensive upside to step forward at the position. Oliva could get a shot if he does well in AAA. |
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CONTRACT INFORMATION
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| 2020: Minor league contract |
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PLAYER INFORMATION
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| Signing Bonus: $200,000 MiLB Debut: 2017 MLB Debut: MiLB FA Eligible: 2023 MLB FA Eligible: Rule 5 Eligible: 2020 Added to 40-Man: Options Remaining: 3 MLB Service Time: 0.000 |
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TRANSACTIONS
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| June 13, 2017: Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 7th round, 208th overall pick; signed on June 20. |