With Spring Training quickly approaching, there aren’t many roster spots with the Pittsburgh Pirates that are truly open. How the rotation of playing time gets worked out will be something to watch during camp.
One such battle will be at second base, where Rodolfo Castro looks to be the leading candidate for the starting job; although there are plenty of other candidates that can potentially vie for playing time.
Rodolfo Castro with a massive 3 run home run in the first inning #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/9rIj367KaQ
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) June 26, 2022
Castro himself is a strong candidate to give the position some production. In 371 career plate appearances he has hit 16 home runs. If you extend that out over just 500 plate appearances, that would give him 21 total home runs, which would have been the fourth most by a second baseman last year. Give him the same amount as Marcus Semien (721), and it averages out to 30 long balls.
Castro’s early output has him closer to some of the better power hitting players at his position.
He graded out better as a third baseman than at second, so seeing some improvement from him as well as Oneil Cruz up the middle would really go a long way. The upside offensively may actually outweigh any kind of defensive insufficiencies.
Ji-Hwan Bae
Limiting Ji-Hwan Bae to just one position would probably be a waste of his overall versatility, but outside of Castro he’s the most obvious option to be a potential everyday player at second base.
With some of the best speed in the entire organization, Bae made a 10 game cameo at the end of the season, playing second, center, and left field. He also played shortstop and third base (just a single inning) while with Indianapolis in 2022.
Ji-Hwan Bae with a double to center field #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/U0mru8laHG
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) June 19, 2022
The best way to properly utilize him is probably as a super utility player, although the Pirates already have quite a few options in the outfield that are left-handed as well, so it will be interesting just to see what they have in store for Bae this season.
Tucupita Marcano
This was a name that probably wasn’t talked about enough over the offseason, and maybe for good reason. Tucupita Marcano picked up hits in five of his first six games with the Pirates in 2022, including home runs in back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After that he slashed just .189/.240/.252 with a wRC+ of just 38. If there was one saving grace, it was that he was actually a positive defender when it comes to Outs Above Average on Baseball Savant (+3), and also provides some flexibility in the outfield.
The Pirates have quite a bit of depth at second base throughout the minors, with two of their last three first round picks on prospects who play the position. So not only is there competition at the major league level, but there is also some talent on the way.
Castro has the kind of power upside, that he’s shown at the major league level, that makes him, at the worst, a potential stop gap.
If Castro truly grabs onto the position in his opportunity, fighting off the likes of Bae and others, he could force himself into the long-term picture.
Highlight of the Day
Pirates Prospects Daily
By Tim Williams
**Po-Yu Chen has some of the best spin in the Pirates system, and Anthony broke that down yesterday.
**Missed yesterday? Anthony looked at what to expect from Hunter Barco this year.
