Jordan Luplow was always slated to begin the year in West Virginia. However, shoulder soreness during the latter part of Spring Training held him back, and prevented him from making the Opening Day roster. Luplow spent the start of the season in extended Spring Training, and is now on his way to join the West Virginia Power. He will join the team in their upcoming road trip.
The Pirates drafted Luplow in the third round of the 2014 draft out of Fresno State. He put up a .782 OPS in Jamestown last year as an outfielder. However, the plans were for him to make the switch to third base this year, which is something that he worked on all Spring. The Pirates will be using him at third this year, and he will be getting the bulk of the playing time at the position early in the season.
One concern with Luplow is the shoulder injury. He had a shoulder injury at Fresno State, which led to coaches moving him to the outfield to limit the amount of throws he would have to make. This shoulder injury obviously wasn’t serious, since he’s already back. However, that will be something to watch going forward.
Luplow’s upside is much more interesting with his potential to play third base. His bat profiles better at the position, and there is more of a need in the system for quality third base prospects than outfield prospects. He was ranked as the number 22 prospect in the system in our early season update.
