Pittsburgh Pirates outfield prospect Wes Freeman has announced his retirement, per a West Virginia press release. Freeman started the year in Bradenton, but was demoted to West Virginia after putting up a .147/.201/.227 line in 150 at-bats in high-A.
Freeman was taken in the 16th round of the 2008 draft, and was given a $150 K bonus to break his commitment to the University of Florida. He had raw power, but lacked strike zone discipline. He struck out in about half of his at-bats in 2010 between West Virginia and the GCL.
Last year it looked like Freeman was coming around. After starting off slow with State College, Freeman turned things around. He hit for a .363 average and an OPS over .850 in the final month and a half of the year, earning a promotion to West Virginia to finish the season. During his hot streak he also cut his strikeout rate down to 22.7%.
The success obviously didn’t carry over to the 2012 season, leading to Freeman hanging it up.
