A lot of attention has been paid to the upper level shortstops (Chase d’Arnaud and Jordy Mercer) this season, but what about one guy at the lower levels who has really been on fire lately? I’m talking about Andrew Maggi, the 15th round pick in the 2010 draft. The Pirates took Maggi out of Arizona State. He was a draft eligible sophomore, and fell due to signability concerns, although the Pirates convinced him to sign with a $468,000 bonus, which was the fourth biggest bonus of the draft for Pittsburgh, behind Jameson Taillon, Stetson Allie, and Nick Kingham.
Maggi started off his career on a low note, with a .156/.257/.203 line in 64 at-bats in State College in 2010. He didn’t get off to a great start in West Virginia either, with a .141/.267/.188 line in 64 at-bats in the month of April. He started off the month of May with a .283/.389/.413 line through the middle of the month, but struggled in the second half of the month, ending up with a .252/.347/.320 line in 103 at-bats.
Maggi has really taken off in the month of June. So far, he has a .367/.457/.532 line in 79 at-bats, with his only two homers of the year. He’s been on fire lately, with a .424/.513/.576 line in his last ten games, including two, four hit games in the last two weeks, and a 2-for-4 performance with a double and a homer last night. This was supposed to be his junior year in college. Instead, he’s playing at a level that he probably wouldn’t have seen until next year. Perhaps he’s starting to get adjusted.
Maggi’s best stat this year has been his 35:37 K/BB ratio. He’s great at getting on base, with an on-base percentage that is over 100 points higher than his average. Only three players in the minor league system have walked more than Maggi: Matt Curry, Daniel Grovatt, and Robbie Grossman. He’s also got a lot of speed, although he doesn’t use it effectively on the bases. Maggi has 15 steals this year, but has been caught stealing 13 times. Overall, he compares to Chase d’Arnaud. He doesn’t really excel in one area, but he’s pretty decent across the board with his skills. They are also both speedy middle infielders, although d’Arnaud is more effective with his stolen bases. I wouldn’t expect him to move up a level this year, since he’s a little raw, and was signed as a sophomore out of college. However, continued performance like what we’re seeing in June could get him a surprise late season promotion to Bradenton.
