Jesus Brito

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2006
DSL:  223/348/319, 229 AB, 12 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 39 BB, 66 K, 5-8 SB

Didn’t do much in his first DSL season other than draw a lot of walks.  He fanned nearly once every three ABs.

2007
DSL:  210/335/314, 210 AB, 17 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 37 BB, 55 K, 1-4 SB

Had a nearly identical season in his second DSL year.  He played first, second and outfield.

2008
DSL:  239/360/283, 230 AB, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 44 BB, 32 K, 20-25 SB

Brito’s OPS declined a little for the second straight year.  His power mostly disappeared, but he did dramatically improve his walk and K numbers, and did very well stealing bases.  He played primarily in the outfield.

2009
R:  366/439/642, 134 AB, 12 2B, 8 3B, 3 HR, 18 BB, 26 K, 2-3 SB
A-:  333/419/456, 90 AB, 7 2B, 2 3B, 14 BB, 15 K, 0-1 SB 

Brito suddenly started hitting once Indians brought him to the US.  He posted a 1081 OPS in rookie ball, then moved up to the New York-Penn League and hit well there, too.  His plate discipline was good at both stops.  He played mainly third and had significant problems with errors, posting a fielding percentage of .872, some of that probably due to inexperience.

2010
A:  197/289/358, 366 AB, 16 2B, 5 3B, 11 HR, 48 BB, 123 K, 5-8 SB 

Brito opened the season as the thirdbaseman at West Virginia, but struggled to hit beyond drawing some walks and showing decent power.  He fanned once every three ABs and hit under .200 every month except April and a 1-for-4 September.  As a mark of consistency, he even hit below the Mendoza line against both LHPs and RHPs, and in both day games and night games.  He showed some improvement and even made some nice plays at times in field, but still had 29 errors in 107 games at third.  As the season wore on, Brito gradually lost playing time to Elevys Gonzalez.

2011
A-:  1-2-1, 3.27 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 33 IP, 4.1 BB/9, 3.8 K/9 

Brito moved to the mound and spent the season in the State College bullpen.  He pitched respectably, with a good ERA and a .250 opponents’ batting average, but he walked slightly more than he struck out.  The ERA was a little misleading, because 11 of the 23 runs he allowed were unearned.

It’s impossible to know what to think from Brito’s pitching debut because . . . uh . . . it was his pitching debut.  If the Pirates think he has the potential to go anywhere, they’ll probably give him some time at West Virginia in 2012.