The Gulf Coast League announced their post-season All-Star team today. The Pittsburgh Pirates had one player on the team, with first baseman Carlos Munoz getting the honors. Munoz hit for a .284/.377/.421 line in 197 at-bats this year, along with four homers and 15 doubles. The most impressive part of his game is that he had more walks (30) than strikeouts (16).
This is actually the third year in a row that he accomplished this feat. He had a 27:54 K/BB ratio in 2013 in the DSL, and an 18:40 K/BB ratio in 2012 in the DSL. The last two years, he has shown the ability to hit for average and add some power to his game.
Munoz is a short first baseman who is on the heavy side. He moves well for his size, but the size does raise concerns about whether he will be successful in the long-term. Right now he’s an interesting lower level prospect, with plate patience skills that are hard to teach.
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.
He’s fun to watch in person. he can really run for a bigger 1st baseman too. Here’s a video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytnGA0vOevQ
Good video.
If Munoz is 5’11”, that catcher must be 6’4″ or taller – he is huge!
With Espinal, Osuna, Allie, and this guy, we could have the start of a pretty good offensive line! 🙂