Kirk Singer

KIRK SINGER
RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
Born: December 1, 1989
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 170
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Drafted: 29th Round, 872nd Overall, 2011
College: Long Beach State University
Agent:  N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

Baseball America rated Singer the 56th best prospect in southern California on the strength of his glove and good arm.  He was a solid hitter until 2011, so it seems likely the new college bats impacted him quite a bit.  He signed shortly after the draft.  After serving primarily as a utility infielder for two years, Singer moved to the mound.  I don’t know much about him as a pitcher, except that he has said he can hit 95 mph.

2011
A-:  236/305/351, 191 AB, 9 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 17 BB, 47 K, 8-13 SB

Actually hit a little better at State College than he did in real college.  As in college, though, he struck out a lot, better than once every four ABs.  He did show more gap power than his college numbers suggested.  Singer initially was the primary shortstop until fellow draftee Brian Sharp retired and Ashley Ponce came up from the GCL.  After that, Singer played mainly second, an indication that the Pirates think more highly of Ponce’s defensive ability.

2012
A:  262/305/321, 187 AB, 6 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 13 BB, 46 K, 6-8 SB
A+:  234/292/315, 197 AB, 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 16 BB, 32 K, 5-10 SB

Singer opened the season at West Virginia, playing semi-regularly at third as the team had Alen Hanson at short and Dan Gamache at second.  He moved up to Bradenton when Drew Maggi and Stefan Welch were promoted to Altoona.  He continued to play third for the Marauders, with Benji Gonzalez at second.  He didn’t hit a great deal at either location.

2013
R:  0-1-0, 5.68 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 6.1 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 4.3 K/9
A+:  1-0-0, 6.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 6.0 IP, 9.0 BB/9, 4.5 K/9

Singer converted to pitching and stayed in extended spring training until late July.  The Pirates assigned him to the GCL at that point and he appeared in half a dozen games, then he went to Bradenton and pitched in another five.  He didn’t get especially good results, but it’s way too soon to form any opinions about his pitching.

Singer will probably head to Bradenton in 2014.

STATS
Baseball Reference–Minors
Fangraphs
MiLB.com
NCAA
BA
OBP
SLG
AB
2B
3B
HR
BB
K
SB
CS
2009 .317 .341 .415 41 4 0 0 2 14 1 0
2010 .315 .395 .493 146 9 1 5 17 27 5 6
2011 .215 .300 .272 159 6 0 1 19 47 3 5
CONTRACT INFORMATION
2014: Minor league salary.
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A.
MiLB Debut: 2011
MLB Debut:
MiLB FA Eligible: 2017.
MLB FA Eligible:
Rule 5 Eligible: 2014.
Added to 40-Man:
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
June 6, 2008: Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 40th round, 1196th overall pick.
June 7, 2011:
Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 29th round, 872nd overall pick; signed on June 13.