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JARED TRIOLO, THIRD BASEMAN
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| Born: February 8, 1998 Height: 6’3″ Weight: 212 Bats: Right Throws: Right Drafted: 2nd Supp. Round, 72nd Overall, 2019 How Acquired: Draft College: University of Houston Agent: |
WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE |
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| Triolo was the Pirates’ competitive balance round pick in the 2019 draft. He’s a solid all-around third baseman without any outstanding tool. He was the best hitter for Houston in 2019, with a 332/420/512 line, including more walks (31) than strikeouts (30). He improved steadily during his three years, with 271/360/372 and 344/434/457 lines as a freshman and sophomore, respectively. Triolo has a good swing but only average bat speed, and hasn’t been able to pull the ball enough to produce a lot of over-the-fence power. Scouts believe he has the potential for more power due to good strength. He has average speed. Sources were split on his defense at the time he was drafted, from average with an average arm to plus with an above-average arm. As a pro, he’s shown that the more optimistic view was the accurate one. Baseball America rated Triolo 115th in the draft class and MLB Pipeline 146th. He signed for exactly the slot amount.
2019 Triolo had probably the best debut of the Pirates’ 2019 college position player draftees, although that’s a low bar. His numbers were a bit better than they look; power is so depressed in the New York-Penn League that he finished tied for second in doubles and in the top 20 in slugging. Triolo hammered LHPs for a .908 OPS, but had only a .651 figure against RHPs. He started 17 games at short, in addition to being the team’s primary third baseman. He looked at least passable there, although he’s probably not a shortstop going forward. 2020 2021 Triolo spent the season at Greensboro and improved steadily all year. His monthly OPS, starting in May, was: .639 .824 .905 .958 .810. His plate discipline was solid and some of the doubles started going over the fence. He had only a minor platoon split and didn’t rely on the extreme home run environment at Greensboro. He had seven home runs and a .752 OPS at home, eight and .915 on the road. Defensively, he played at a major league level at third. He also started five games at short. Maybe most interesting of all, he did a great job stealing bases, although he isn’t a speedster. 2022 Triolo got off to a slow start at Altoona, mainly due to a May slump in which he had a .613 OPS. It also took him awhile to find his power; he didn’t go deep until June 12. He came alive late in the season, though, with an .832 OPS in July and 1.042 in August. Triolo’s final line was comfortably better than the league norm of 240/325/403. His plate discipline throughout the season was excellent and he continued to be a surprisingly good base stealer. He had some odd splits, putting up an .820 OPS against RHPs but only .677 against LHPs. In the field, Triolo mostly played third, but he started 19 games at short and seven in center. Triolo was Rule 5 eligible and the Pirates added him to the 40-man roster. The move may have surprised some folks, but it’s an indication of the value the Pirates place on Triolo’s broad skill set. His bat is still something of a question mark, but he adds a lot of value through defense, versatility and baserunning. Unfortunately, Triolo had hamate surgery during spring training. There was no timetable for his return.
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