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Prospect Roundtable: Which Players Might Repeat a Level Next Year?

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At the start of each month, we run a series of Prospect Roundtable articles looking at players who are surging up and surging down. There is one month remaining for the full system, and rather than looking at the season totals, we’re looking this month at the second half starts.

Some players have struggled this year, and continue to struggle in the month of July. Heading into the final month, we all picked a player whose struggles might keep him repeating the same level in 2023.

JOHN DREKER: Sammy Siani, OF

Sammy Siani’s season took a disturbing downward trend in July, which ended with him being assigned to the FCL Pirates in a move similar to what the Pirates did with Maikol Escotto when his season had completely stalled. Siani showed solid results last year in Bradenton, despite a low average. He had a huge walk rate, along with some power in his game. Moving up to a more hitter-friendly park this year, I at least expected the power numbers to stay the same, even if better pitchers would cut into his OBP numbers. Siani hasn’t really shown anything except speed/defense this year, as the average has stayed low, the walks have dropped, his strikeout rate has increased substantially, and his power has disappeared in a park made for power. In fact, he’s actually seeing a bump due to his home park, but his road stats have been hideous, with a .148 average and two extra-base hits in 32 games. He had a solid June, then completely collapsed in July with a .344 OPS. This isn’t what you want to see from a first round pick during his fourth year in the system, and he has very little time to turn things around, especially since he isn’t playing right now.

WILBUR MILLER: Miguel Yajure, RHP

Going into this season, Yajure seemed like a strong option for the Pirates’ rotation, either at the start of the year or soon after. He doesn’t seem anywhere close to that now. The trouble may stem from his injury problems in 2021. When he returned, his fastball velocity was down and his other pitches didn’t seem as sharp. He also doesn’t seem to have the same command he did before and his walks have been way up. For much of this year, he’s pitched in relief while also missing some more time occasionally. In July, though, he’s stayed in the Indianapolis rotation and it hasn’t been pretty. In five starts, he’s had two good ones and three bad, including two in which he gave up seven runs while failing to reach the fourth inning. In 18 innings, he’s allowed 24 hits, including four longballs. His ERA in Triple-A now stands at 7.34. It’s very hard to see Yajure returning to Pittsburgh this season, especially not as a starter. To make matters worse, he’ll be out of options after the season.

ANTHONY MURPHY: Sammy Siani, OF

The Pirates decided to get aggressive with the placements of certain prospects to begin the 2022 season. While it worked for some like Dariel Lopez, it hasn’t worked out for others like Maikel Escotto and Sammy Siani (Hudson Head is teetering that line right now).

While Escotto is getting another look in Bradenton after some time in the FCL, he is still just 20-years-old and will be that age at the start of the 2023 season.

Siani will turn 22 before the end of the year and is looking like he is going to need another go around in Bradenton and/or Greensboro. The outfielder showed some great patience at the plate last year and limited the strikeout rate to 24.4%.

That’s still been the case this year, as he’s walking at a 14.6% rate, but the strikeouts have gotten out of control. It’s all kind of spiraled out of place in July where he went 3-for-38 before being sent back to the FCL, where he hasn’t played yet but is probably spending more time on the back fields.

He has shown off his speed this season, stealing 22 bags to this point, but striking out 35% of the time doesn’t open a very big window to consistently getting on base.

Siani was the second player taken by the Pirates in the draft class that featured Quinn Priester, Matt Gorski, and Matt Fraizer, among others. So, it’s not exactly a great sign that he’s going backwards when most from that class have taken that huge step forward in Double-A.

RYAN PALENCER: Mason Martin, 1B

In July, Mason Martin stuck out 32 times in 20 games. Unfortunately, that has been a most-of-the-season trend for the slugger. Martin also only smacked 3 home runs in the month, as his tough campaign continues. Martin has struggled with pitches with downward movement. However, he has struggled the most with pitches on the outer half of the plate. Pitchers now realize that, and the only pitches he gets on the inner half are mistakes. After April, Martin looked like a lock to be added to the 40 man and have a shot to debut, at latest, next season. Now, he will certainly repeat Triple-A and may not get added this offseason again based on the holes in his swing. However, there is some hope. Over the past week, Martin has been much more selective on the outside pitches he offers at. He also went the other way with a pitch twice — one a hit and one a groundout. It’s baby steps, but could be a big progression. If the power to the opposite field can follow, it might be a completely different discussion.

TIM WILLIAMS: Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP

Mlodzinski has struggled this year in the Altoona rotation, putting up a 4.80 ERA in 65.2 innings. He’s dealt with control issues and has been hit hard at times. Mlodzinski has a few outings that have blown up his overall numbers, but not as many lights out starts to do the opposite. The control has improved over the last month, with five walks in the last five starts from Mlodzinski. He’s still getting hit around a lot, with a 5.60 ERA, despite 21 strikeouts in 17.2 innings. Mlodzinski doesn’t have a standout pitch. He’s got the potential for several average pitches, and average command. At best, the hope is he could be a back of the rotation starter. It’s more likely he ends up a reliever, and the season he’s having might bring that change sooner than later. I could see him returning to Altoona next year for another shot at the rotation, and it won’t surprise me if he’s a reliever by the end of 2023. The easiest way to remain on the starter track would be developing an out pitch, or finding consistent command.

THIS WEEK ON PIRATES PROSPECTS

Williams: Ben Cherington’s Pittsburgh Pirates Trade History

Prospect Roundtable: Which Second Half Surges Are You Buying?

Prospect Roundtable: Which Players Might Repeat a Level Next Year?

Angel Basabe: Hot July Earns Quick Promotion To Greensboro

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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