The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed Dominican outfielder Jeremias Portorreal out of the Dominican Prospect League, Pirates Prospects has learned. Portorreal was linked to the Pirates early in the international signing period, but couldn’t sign until he turned 16 this Wednesday. He ended up signing for $375,000.
Portorreal is a 6′ 2″, 180 pound left-handed hitter. Baseball America described his best tool as his bat, with projectable power. They also projected him to eventually play left field or first base. He’s another in a long line of players who the Pirates have signed out of the Dominican Prospect League, with that list including Willy Garcia and 2013 signing Edinson Lantigua.
Here is a video of Portorreal:
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
Always like to ehar that we are picking up future power hitters. All teams need those.