Keon Broxton

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2009
R+:  246/302/474, 272 AB, 11 2B, 9 3B, 11 HR, 19 BB, 93 K, 6-7 SB

In his debut in advanced rookie ball, Broxton hit for good power but with an alarming K rate.

2010
A:  228/316/360, 531 AB, 17 2B, 19 3B, 5 HR, 65 BB, 172 K, 21-34 SB

Broxton had pretty much the same season in low A, with a few more walks and much less power.

2011
A:  231/294/282, 78 AB, 2 3B, 7 BB, 30 K, 6-10 SB
A+:  251/349/362, 406 AB, 14 2B, 5 3B, 7 HR, 62 BB, 142 K, 27-35 SB

The D’backs sent Broxton back to low A initially and he struggled, but they promoted him after a few weeks anyway.  In the hitting-happy California League, he struggled, continuing to strike out at a prodigious rate.  He did draw walks at a very good rate and improve his base stealing efficiency.

2012
A+:  267/326/437, 490 AB, 24 2B, 1 3B, 19 HR, 40 BB, 136 K, 21-29 SB

The D’backs sent Broxton back to the California League and he showed considerable improvement, especially in the form of greater power and a moderately improved K rate.  His overall numbers, though, weren’t impressive in the context of the league.  After the season, Arizona added Broxton to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

2013
AA:  231/296/359, 334 AB, 13 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 30 BB, 116 K, 5-6 SB

Broxton missed the first month of the season with a broken finger, then went to AA.  He struggled there, with his K rate vaulting back up over once for every three ABs.  After the season, Arizona removed him from its 40-man roster and outrighted him to AA.

2014
AA:  275/369/484, 407 AB, 22 2B, 9 3B, 15 HR, 59 BB, 122 K, 25-31 SB

Broxton had a semi-breakout season, hitting for power, drawing walks and putting up a career-high batting average.  His K rate did improve from 2013, but remained at better than one every three and a half ABs.  Broxton started the season playing only semi-regularly, but hit himself into an everyday role in May.  He had some rather amazing ups and downs during the season, as shown by his monthly OPS:

April:  .417
May:  1.108
June:  .370
July:  .967
August:  .1.061

Broxton had a reverse platoon split, with an OPS that was 100 points higher against RHPS than LHPs.  He played left while Mel Rojas was with the team, but moved to center afterward.  Either way, he showed impressive range.

2015
AA:  302/365/464, 179 AB, 12 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 19 BB, 51 K, 11-17 SB
AAA:  256/352/423, 312 AB, 15 2B, 8 3B, 7 HR, 47 BB, 105 K, 28-37 SB
MLB:  000/000/000, 2 AB, 1 K, 1-2 SB

Although he was eligible for the Rule 5 draft, the Pirates did not add Broxton to the roster, possibly an indication that they didn’t believe the strong 2014 offensive numbers were real, and he was not selected.  The Indianapolis roster was loaded with veterans — Jose Tabata, Gorkys Hernandez, Jaff Decker, Steve Lombardozzi among others — so the Pirates sent Broxton back to Altoona to open 2015.  He hit much the same as the previous year, only not quite as well.  The Pirates moved him up to AAA at the end of May and he spent the rest of the season playing all three outfield positions for Indianapolis.  His hitting in AAA was similar to AA, except not quite as good.  He continued to produce good power and draw walks, but had significant problems making contact.  Broxton got off to a bad start in AAA, posting a .551 OPS for the month of June, but his OPS was over .800 every month after that.  He stole a lot of bases at both stops, although it would help if he was a little more efficient at it.  Broxton struggled against LHPs, with a .642 OPS against them and .851 against RHPs.  Once Indianapolis lost in the International League finals, the Pirates called Broxton up.  He served mainly as a pinch runner, but got two ABs and a few innings in the outfield.

Broxton would have been eligible for minor league free agency after the season if the Pirates hadn’t added him to the 40-man roster.  Whether they intend to keep him on the roster into the 2016 season remains to be seen.  He could be a useful player as a backup in the majors.  He’s a plus runner and defender, including in center field.  He also has some power and will take a walk.  On the down side, his very high K rates suggest he might not be able to hit at all at the major league level, and the Pirates aren’t lacking for center fielders in the majors.  At 25, he’s not young for a prospect, either.