Pirates to promote pair of notable prospects

The Pittsburgh Pirates are continuing to dip into the upper-tier of their prospect base, as both catcher Endy Rodriguez and middle infielder Liover Peguero are being called up from Triple-A, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (Twitter links). Rodriguez will be making his MLB debut, while Peguero is getting another look after appearing in a single game with the Pirates last season.

Rodriguez was a consensus top-55 prospect in preseason rankings from Baseball America (who had him No. 23), The Athletic’s Keith Law (No. 34) and MLB Pipeline and Baseball Prospectus (No. 55).  In updated midseason rankings, BA dropped Rodriguez to No. 55 while Pipeline has elevated him up to No. 34, which perhaps speaks more to the methodology of each list — for instance, Baseball America has already incorporated picks from the 2023 draft class into their rankings.

Regardless, Rodriguez’s first full year at Triple-A hasn’t been the full-fledged breakout that the Pirates would’ve preferred to see, even though the team has opted to give the call to the 23-year-old.  Rodriguez is slashing .268/.356/.415 with six homers over 315 plate appearances at Triple-A Indianapolis, with a slow start dampening his numbers.  The last month has been much better for Rodriguez, however, as he has a .986 OPS over his last 93 PA, with more walks (13) than strikeouts (11).

This hot streak will now carry Rodriguez into The Show, where he’ll join fellow prospect Quinn Priester in what will likely be a dual-debut  for the Pirates on Monday, as Priester is already set to start against the Cleveland Guardians.  Between Rodriguez and Priester, plus Henry Davis and Nick Gonzales already called up earlier this season, Pittsburgh’s youth movement is in full effect. The remaining months of the 2023 campaign will provide an intriguing glimpse at what the Bucs hope is a future championship core.

Originally an international signing for the New York Mets, Rodriguez came to Pittsburgh as part of the three-team trade in January 2021 that sent Joe Musgrove to the San Diego Padres and Joey Lucchesi to New York.  That swap has already been very beneficial for the Pirates in the work of star closer David Bednar. If Rodriguez lives up to his prospect potential, the trade may be seen as one of the key moves in the franchise’s rebuild.  Rodriguez was starting to hit in rookie ball even before the canceled 2020 minor-league season and his continued success led to a quick rise through three different levels of Pittsburgh’s farm system in 2022.

Rodriguez has displayed a knack for contact hitting and getting on base throughout his minor-league career, though his Isolated Power number has taken a notable drop in 2023.  Even if he’ll have to work on that extra pop against big-league pitching, Rodriguez’s switch-hitting profile is particularly promising from the catcher position.

It has become increasingly clear this season that the Pirates indeed view Rodriguez as a catcher. He has played almost all of his Triple-A games behind the plate (with eight appearances at first base).  Rodriguez had previously been deployed as a second baseman, left fielder and right fielder earlier in his minor league career, as the Pirates explored how to best utilize Rodriguez’s athleticism and also how to juggle playing time for Davis as a possible catcher of the future.

Since Davis has almost entirely served as  a right fielder during his brief time in the Majors, it would seem like Pittsburgh’s plan is for Rodriguez to work as a primary catcher and for Davis to be perhaps something of an overqualified backup — playing mostly every day in the outfield but also getting some occasional reps at backstop.  Defensive specialist Austin Hedges figures to still be in the mix for playing time and as a veteran mentor to Rodriguez and Davis, while current backup catcher Jason Delay might be something of an odd man out.

The 22-year-old Peguero is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the seventh-best prospect in the Pirates’ farm system. He also drew top-100 attention from Pipeline, BA, and Prospectus prior to the 2022 campaign.  Peguero had an uninspiring season at Double-A last year, though it still resulted in his one-game MLB debut. In 2023, he hit well enough in additional Double-A action (.260/.333/.453 in 318 PA) to merit a promotion to Triple-A.  Now, the Bucs are making another aggressive call-up, as Peguero is headed back to the majors after only seven games in Indianapolis.

Known for his excellent speed and throwing arm, Peguero might have a future at shortstop, though Oneil Cruz will have first dibs on the position once he returns from the 60-day injured list.  Peguero and Gonzales figure to work as the Pirates’ middle infield duo until Cruz is healthy and possibly into the future if or when the club makes a decision about Cruz’s defensive future.