Dariel Lopez Putting In The Work To Improve Defensively

Defense is an often overlooked and forgotten part of the development path when it comes to prospects. As the information available continues to grow, many tend to skew their observations to the offensive side of things.

By all accounts, Dariel Lopez is starting to show signs of mastering High-A with Greensboro, at least offensively.

Dariel Lopez Continues To Answer Each Challenge Given

On the defensive side of things, Lopez remains a curious case, as his high error totals in each of the last two years would be concerning in a lot of cases.

However, just about anyone who has watched Lopez on a consistent basis sees the potential, especially looking past the errors. While in Bradenton in 2021, Lopez was named the best defensive third basemen in the Low-A Southeast, voted by the managers on Baseball America’s ‘Top Tools’ article.

That’s despite committing 33 errors, 12 of which were at third base.

This year with Greensboro he’s committed 25 errors, four of which came in a single game against Bowling Green.

Looking at that game, two of the errors were short hops, the first one is probably scooped just as many times as it bounces out. The play is 100% on Lopez for bouncing it, but there are plenty of opportunities where the first baseman gets that.

The dropped foul ball was costly, as it led to a home run later in the at-bat and he definitely rushed the second throw.

It was a rough game defensively, but the Pirates still see the potential, and growth, of Lopez’s game in the field.

“As he’s maturing, we’re seeing more intensity and focus in that defensive work, which are the things that we look for with players,” Pirates farm director John Baker told Pirates Prospects.

Baker brought up Derek Jeter and his time in Greensboro that saw him commit a total of 52 errors, eventually turning into one of the better shortstops to ever play, as well as a Hall of Famer.

It’s easy to forget the fact that Lopez is still just 20-years-old. According to Baseball Reference he’s two-and-a-half years younger than his competition in the South Atlantic League.

There’s still plenty of growth and development to come, but Lopez seems more than willing to put in the work to make it happen.

“It’s the underlying things we look at,” Baker continued. “And also the work and practice habits, and the intensity and focus they take into that, especially when it’s hot, especially when they’re tired.”

“Dariel has actually exceeded our expectations in that regard.”