Dan Gamache

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2011
R:  350/440/350, 20 AB, 3 BB, 5 K
A-:  231/292/338, 65 AB, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 5 BB, 13 K, 1-2 SB

After a brief tuneup in the GCL, Gamache got into 20 games with State College.  He didn’t hit well, but that may not mean much due to the small sample size, the adjustment to wood bats, and possible lingering effects from the hand injury.  He split his time between third and second.

2012
A:  285/350/430, 449 AB, 40 2B, 5 3B, 5 HR, 41 BB, 95 K, 7-11 SB

Gamache played second exclusively for West Virginia.  He had a solid year at the plate, without dominating the way you’d like to see a college hitter do at low A.  Two factors in his favor are that he played the season at age 21, and he improved in the second half, going from a .745 first-half OPS to .813 in the second half.  He had a moderate platoon split, posting an OPS of .802 against RHPs and .710 against LHPs.

2013
A+:  258/342/373, 480 AB, 34 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 58 BB, 139 K, 8-17 SB

Gamache was the regular at second for Bradenton.  He had a solid season, but nothing that would establish him as a prospect.  He finished second in the Florida State League in doubles, but struck out in over a quarter of his at-bats, which is a lot for a hitter with little HR power.  Gamache showed good range, but committed 18 errors, which is a little more than you’d want to see at second.  He hit LHPs (.740 OPS) better than RHPs (.698).

2014
R:  286/286/286, 7 AB
A-:  235/350/235, 17 AB, 2 BB, 2 K
AA:  275/340/486, 138 AB, 11 2B, 6 HR, 11 BB, 32 K, 0-1 SB

With Alen Hanson and Gift Ngoepe set in the middle infield for Altoona, Gamache competed with Jarek Cunningham for the Curve’s thirdbase job.  Gamache suffered a foot fracture from a foul ball in spring training, though, and wasn’t able to join Altoona until early July.  He split time between third and DH, and also played second during periods when Hanson was benched or hurt.  Once he got to Altoona Gamache hit for surprising power, setting a career high in HRs in fewer than a third of the games he’d played the previous two years.

2015
AA:  335/377/457, 245 AB, 13 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 17 BB, 36 K, 3-9 SB
AAA:  257/300/307, 101 AB, 5 2B, 6 BB, 24 K, 1-1 SB

Gamache was eligible for the Rule 5 draft after the 2014 season but wasn’t selected.  He returned to Altoona, where playing time was hard to come by due to a glut of infielders, specifically Max Moroff, Gift Ngoepe, Eric Wood and eventually Adam Frazier.  Gamache played first, second, third and DH.  He got only semi-regular playing time despite the fact that, after a 3-for-38 start, he began hitting even better than the previous year.  At the end of July, the Pirates promoted Gamache to Indianapolis and he played more or less regularly at third.  He just held his own at the plate.  Oddly, Gamache crushed LHPs for a .919 OPS.  He posted a .726 figure against RHPs.

2016
AAA:  244/338/324, 176 AB, 8 2B, 2 HR, 26 BB, 50 K, 0-3 SB

Gamache was eligible again for the Rule 5 draft and wasn’t selected.  He settle in as a utility player with Indianapolis and got limited playing time.  He started only 23 games in the field, 15 at first and eight at third.  At the plate, he didn’t do a lot besides draw walks.

The Pirates didn’t seem totally sold on Gamache’s bat after his 2014-15 seasons and they may have been right.  He’ll be 26 when the 2017 season opens and will probably be back at Indianapolis.