Pirates Prospects Daily: Ji-Hwan Bae Is a Wildcard In Potential 2023 Lineup

The Pittsburgh Pirates have plenty of decisions they are going to have to make during Spring Training. One of the more intriguing ones is how best to utilize Ji-Hwan Bae and get his bat into the lineup.

He was able to play in the majors just enough to give a taste of what he might bring to the table.

In 10 games to end the season, Bae slashed .333/.405/.424 with three doubles and three stolen bases in 37 plate appearances. He also scored five runs despite also getting the majority of his at-bats in the nine-hole as a sort of ‘second leadoff’ hitter, with Oneil Cruz at the top of the lineup.

He singled and stole a base earlier. Here #Pirates speedster Ji-Hwan Bae shows off all the gears on this triple pic.twitter.com/uaxwVVIjRK

— Jonathan Mayo (@JonathanMayo) November 17, 2021

A natural middle infielder, Bae is currently listed as an outfielder on the team’s website, a position where his speed may have its most impact, even with the lack of power.

While there is some power potential on the team, especially with some of the offseason additions, Bae’s may be one of the biggest points of impact this coming year.

The Pirates finished in the bottom half last year in home runs, and while they will get a full season of Cruz and Rodolfo Castro, as well as Andrew McCutchen, Bryan Reynolds, and Carlos Santana, Bae’s ability to create on the basepaths will only amplify the power’s impact.

In those ten games he played, Bae posted a 139 wRC+ and a 0.5 WAR on Baseball Reference. That’s an incredibly small sample size, but that does equate to an 8.1 WAR/162.

It can be a forgotten art at times, but still a way to impact the game in a positive way for the Pirates.

This time last year I wrote about finding a fit for Bae, especially defensively. There were (and still is) a lot of names in the mix at second base, and he’s still a bit raw in the outfield.

Turns out the answer to that question wasn’t as linear, but his true fit may end up being that Swiss army knife that never really finds a real home defensively.

Here are a couple of more names to watch this Spring that are probably on the bubble right now in making the roster, but could make an impact if they head north back to Pittsburgh.

Canaan Smith-Njigba

Depending on what you want to call McCutchen, whether it be the primary DH or left fielder, it could open a scenario where Smith-Njigba and Bae are battling for the starting job next to Reynolds.

Canaan Smith-Njigba rips a double in his first MLB at-bat! pic.twitter.com/EyJG4lqN67

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 14, 2022

Smith-Njigba has plenty of raw power, and has a great approach at the plate. While built like a linebacker, he moves fairly well in the outfield. Playing left field at PNC Park is certainly a task on its own, and Reynolds didn’t grade out well in center last year, so the added defensive boost helps.

Jared Triolo

He’s been a hit machine the last two years in the minors, and may very well be the second best defender in the system behind Ke’Bryan Hayes. If there’s a glaring hole right now when looking at putting together a potential Opening Day roster is a right-handed middle infielder that can spell Cruz if they want to give him a day off against lefties.

They brought in Chris Owings to be potentially that guy, but Triolo has far more upside, and is almost as versatile.