NORKIS MARCOS, SHORTSTOP
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Born: May 26, 2001 Height: 6’0″ Weight: 170 Bats: Right Throws: Right Signed: Int’l Free Agent, 2017, Pittsburgh Pirates How Acquired: International Free Agent Country: Dominican Republic Agent: N/A |
WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE |
Marcos was one of the Pirates’ more prominent signings in the 2017-18 international signing period. He has very good potential defensively at short, along with good speed and good size for the position.
2018 Marcos just held his own at the plate in his debut, showing no power at all. He drew a lot of walks but also struck out a lot; he may need to get more aggressive as he moves up. He did very well at stealing bases. In the field he had 18 errors and an .898 fielding percentage at short, which isn’t really alarming for a 17-year-old in the DSL. He drew good reviews otherwise for his defense. Marcos played short nearly all the time, with four games at second. 2019 Marcos was the principal shortstop in the GCL, although he also saw a little time at second. He struggled badly at the plate until August, when he put up a 333/356/474 line. The patience he’d shown in the DSL, though, dropped off sharply and he had major problems making contact throughout. He continued to show some speed on the bases. 2020 2021 Marcos opened the season at Bradenton, where he played semi-regularly, spending time at all four infield positions. In late June, the Pirates sent him down to the FCL, where he played mainly first and third. The shift to playing a lot at first probably doesn’t bode well for him, as the Pirates have a puzzling, long-standing pattern of playing non-prospects there, especially in the low minors. Marcos put up almost exactly the same offensive numbers at the two levels, with very high walk rates and extremely high K rates. 2022 Marcos joined Bradenton in early June and spent the rest of the season there as a utility player. His playing time and position depended heavily on the other players available. His hitting was the same as before, with fewer walks but more power. He had a good month in August, batting 259/328/500, but went 0-for-15 in September. Marcos split his time more or less evenly between first, second and third. The fact that he started 15 games at first illustrates the Pirates’ practice of treating the position as a throw-away spot rather than one to employ in developing prospects. It’s an example of why their production from the position in the majors in 2022 was historically awful. Marcos has good defensive ability, but just hasn’t gotten the bat on the ball enough. He’s a good organizational utility player. |
CONTRACT INFORMATION
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2023: Minor League Contract |
PLAYER INFORMATION
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Signing Bonus: $250,000 MiLB Debut: 2018 MLB Debut: N/A MiLB FA Eligible: 2024 MLB FA Eligible: N/A Rule 5 Eligible: 2021 Added to 40-Man: N/A Options Remaining: 3 MLB Service Time: 0.000 |
TRANSACTIONS
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July 3, 2017: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent. |