Tuesday was the official start of summer, but some of the Greensboro hitters decided not to wait till then to start warming things up.
First National Bank Field is of course notorious for being hitter-friendly, but the first two months of the season, the offense didn’t seem to be clicking like you would have hoped.
While there are plenty of players still struggling this month, a few have really started to stand out, especially in June and after struggling out the gate.
I featured Dariel Lopez on Tuesday, looking at the changes he’s made to his swing and how it has him pulling more than before. April was a really rough month for Lopez, but he’s gotten better as the season has gone on. In June he’s slashed .282/.324/.478 with three home runs, seven extra-base hits and seven RBI.
No Grasshopper has driven in more runs in the month of June than Ernny Ordonez. The first two month of the season Ordonez struggled to get acclimated to High-A, posting a collective wRC+ of 56 in April and May. This month has him slightly above average at 108.
Sammy Siani was taken by the Pirates with the 37th pick in the 2019 draft. After a slow start, he is starting to show some of those tool that made him so highly regarded. In June Siani has a .977 OPS, with not only four extra-base hits, but eight stolen bases. He has an wRC+ of 165 this month after posting just a 79 in April and May.
It’s not uncommon for the offense to start finding themselves as the weather warms up, and that may be finally starting to be the case in Greensboro, at least for some.
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THIS WEEK ON PIRATES PROSPECTS
Williams: Three Encouraging Signs From This Pirates Build
Reacting to the Impressive Debuts From Oneil Cruz and Bligh Madris
Prospect Roundtable: The Book on Jack Suwinski
The Variable Approach to How the Pirates Are Developing Their Minor Leaguers
Cody Bolton Discusses Pitches and Limits
Dariel Lopez: Pulling The Ball More In Greensboro
Song of the Day
Great song of the day!
lopez will be the pirates best latin hitter since marte. book it
Cruz says HI! Unless you meant you meant signed.
signed yes
This would be incredible
Not to be a downer but, uh, who exactly is the Pirate’s current best latin hitter since Marte?
I suppose I was thinking if he got to around the level that marte was at, which had me excited lol
Big fan myself, I just thought agent was damning with faint praise!
i was partly doing that yes 😉 . i hoped someone would mention it.
that said, i do think he’ll be a solid mlb player for the pirates.
I can sniff out some well-placed snark from a mile away, my friend!
Yeah!!!! Siani > Hudson Head!! lol
Do you think siani has the potential to be something?
I think there’s potential, yes. He’s got a really pretty swing. But him and Hudson Head have a similar issue (and we haven’t been able to actually watch them much this season) in that both like to go A swing, every swing. Though, from the looks of it, Siani is going oppo more this season, where Head is actually pulling it MORE. Over 50% of the time.
Sammy Siani, I think, is NH’s last 1st round pick, comp pick i guess, i may be wrong but who cares… Ive been frustrated with him but then I remind myself that he is still only 21, pretty impressive month at high A ball, he has my attention🤷♂️