As per our own Ryan Palencer, Ji-Hwan Bae is set to get promoted to the Pirates and is set to join the team in Pittsburgh. Bae has been one of the top performers in the system over the past two seasons, as he has seen a drastic power surge that has made him a legitimate major league prospect.
Ji-hwan Bae has been promoted and is headed to Pittsburgh.
— Ryan Palencer (@RyanPalencer) September 23, 2022
Bae has some of the best speed and contact skills in the system, so the power starting to come through has really boosted his game. So has the time in the outfield, where he has been able to use his speed defensively.
It will be interesting to see how he is utilized once arriving to Pittsburgh, as Rodolfo Castro has really made the case to be the everyday second baseman — with Oneil Cruz and Ke’Bryan Hayes obviously manning two of the other infield spots.
The Pirates also have Bryan Reynolds in center field, another one of Bae’s secondary positions. While analytically this hasn’t been one of his better years defensively, center field still seems like Reynolds’ to lose.
I’ve talked about what Travis Swaggerty’s future in Pittsburgh may hold, and depending on where Bae plays it may make what lays ahead even murkier for the former first round pick. He made his major league debut this year, but never really got a chance to play everyday, or even in some sort of rotation before getting sent back to Indianapolis and left there.
