P2Daily: Two Lower Level Hitters Heating Up

As we continue through summer, you can see the life emerging from some of the bats in the Pirates’ farm system. Some of the players that looked a little more lifeless at the beginning of the season are starting to come alive, flashing some of that potential they have.

Two names that have especially stuck out over the last week are Dariel Lopez and Rodolfo Nolasco. They both have some of the most intriguing raw power tools in the system, and both got off to incredibly slow starts this season.

When Lopez got the bump up from Bradenton, the idea of him playing in Greensboro with his opposite field power was exciting. He didn’t do much with it early on, but after adjusting to a change in his batting stance, has been on fire as of late.

Early on in July, Lopez has a slash of .438/.455/.625, with three doubles, a home run and five RBI. He’s hit safely in 13 straight games going back to June, as well as 17 of the last 18.

The biggest issue with Lopez was his strikeouts — at one point at an over 30% rate. There’s still work to do, but he has gotten it down to 27.8% on the season at the moment.

Nolasco made the jump from the Florida Complex League to Single-A Bradenton this year, and while he was posting some of the more impressive statcast numbers on the team, the overall results weren’t quite there yet.

He’s starting to put the bat to the ball more now, allowing his raw power to come through. This past week against Lakeland, Nolasco hit home runs in four straight games, giving him 10 on the season now — the most on the team.

Nolasco has hits in seven straight games, the same length as the current Marauders winning streak. Nolasco is really dialed in this month, currently slugging .900.

Both are toolsy players with some upside, but have been looking for some consistency all season. Now that they are finding some, we are getting a good look at what they are capable of.

With a little less than half the season left, we are getting a better idea just where they are at in their development and where some players may be cooling off after a hot start, Lopez and Nolasco made the adjustments to get better. Which is all you can really ask for from players in Single-A and High-A.