Statistically speaking, the Pittsburgh Pirates got the worst production out of the first base position in the majors last year. One of the first things they did this offseason was to address that, trading for Ji-Man Choi and signing Carlos Santana — both established veterans in the league.
The veteran presence at the position will buy some time in the minors, where the Pirates have options at the first base position, but are just looking for someone to step up and put themselves in the conversation as potential major league contributors.
Malcom Nunez
Acquired in the Jose Quintana trade along with Johan Oviedo, Nunez was tearing the cover off the ball in the very hitter friendly Texas League before coming over to the Pirates.
Malcom Nunez with a solo shot his first AAA home run #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/su2YblXcxp
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) September 21, 2022
He didn’t slow down too much in his brief time in the Pirates system, slashing .280/.385/.475 and posting a 134 wRC+ while splitting time between Double and Triple-A.
Nunez has a strong approach at the plate (14.7 BB%) and will turn 22 in March after making it to Triple-A at the end of last season. If the Pirates are grooming a true ‘first base of the future’, he would likely be the leading candidate to hold that spot down.
Mason Martin
Maybe still one of the bigger wildcards in the upper levels for the Pirates, there are few players in the minor leagues that have the power potential that Martin has. The issue for him has always been the strikeouts, as the slugging lefty came up six short of 200 on the season.
Regardless, no one has been more of a prolific home run hitter than Martin over the last three minor league seasons for the Pirates. His 79 home runs since 2019 is 23 more than the next player, Aaron Shackelford.
Mason Martin with another home run. He makes it look so effortless #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/SjbvcE7P9u
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) July 10, 2022
He got off to a torrent start, belting 23 hits (16 for extra-bases) and a 157 wRC+ in the month of April. He hit another seven home runs in May before falling off a cliff the next couple of months.
Martin struck out over 40% of the time in the months of June and July, he posted a wRC+ of 123 in August before struggling in September to close out the season.
While he’ll always remain an intriguing option due to his power, the swing and miss is something that will make it hard to establish himself in the majors.
Other Names In The System
Mentioned previously, Aaron Shackelford has the second most home runs in the system since 2019, and finished first overall in 2022. He played some second base and right field, but his true home is first base. He struck out seven times in 16 plate appearances in a brief stint in Triple-A last year.
Four games, four homers for Aaron Shackelford.
Jacob Gonzalez was added through the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft in 2021, tearing up Bradenton before making his way to Greensboro for the majority of the season.
He put up a very impressive batting slash of .305/.377/.459 along with a wRC+ 131 between the two levels, but will also be 25 in June and will most likely get his first taste of Double-A. He rarely strikes out (13.1 K%), and is a solid line drive hitter (system leading 25.3 LD%), but will always have the age factor playing against him at this point and he also struggled in his limited playing time in the Arizona Fall League.
The Pirates bought time at the major league level with bringing Choi and Santana, so there is nearly no expectations from any of these prospects to make an impact in 2023. Any hope is that one breaks through and makes a case to lay claim at the first base job in 2024.
Highlight of the Day
Pirates Prospects Daily
By Tim Williams
**Related to this P2Daily, my latest article at Baseball America looks at Malcom Nunez entering the picture for that first base role.
**My latest column looks at the Pirates pitchers, breaking down their 80th and 20th percentile projections from ZiPS.
**Missed yesterday? Anthony looked at Braylon Bishop and how he’s looking to put his raw power on display.
Song of the Day
Pirates Prospects Weekly
I’ve been working through a series of columns that will eventually lead to one of the most detailed season projections I’ve ever done. Last week, I focused on the position players. This week, the focus is on the pitchers. Check back for part three, next week.
Our latest Roundtable will hit the site on Thursday at noon.
